JAMMU/SRINAGAR: Heavy overnight rains lashed large parts of Jammu and Kashmir, triggering flood-like conditions in several low-lying areas and damaging a key bridge on the Jammu-Pathankot national highway, officials said.
Jammu, the winter capital, recorded 190.4 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours ending 8:30 am, marking the second-highest rainfall this month in a century. The highest August rainfall remains 228.6 mm, recorded on August 5, 1926, while the previous second-highest was 189.6 mm on August 11, 2022.
Authorities have issued advisories, urging people to avoid water bodies and landslide-prone areas, as forecasts predict moderate to heavy rainfall with the risk of cloudbursts, flash floods, and landslides in high-altitude regions until August 27.
A traffic department official said the strategic Jammu-Srinagar (250 km) and Srinagar-Leh (434 km) national highways remain open despite the heavy rains. However, the Mughal Road, connecting Poonch and Rajouri with Shopian in south Kashmir, and the Sinthan Road linking Kishtwar and Doda with Anantnag, are closed due to landslides at multiple locations.
In Kathua district, a bridge near Logate Morh on the Jammu-Pathankot highway was damaged in the middle after the Sahar Khad nallah overflowed. Traffic on the highway has been diverted via an alternate bridge.
Normal life in Jammu city has been disrupted by the downpour, with overflowing streams and drains inundating roads and entering homes in areas including Janipur, Roop Nagar, Talab Tilloo, Jewel Chowk, New Plot, and Sanjay Nagar. Several boundary walls were damaged, and nearly a dozen vehicles were swept away in flash floods.
Officials reported that water levels in major rivers and streams—including the Basantar in Samba, Ujh and Ravi in Kathua, Chenab in Doda, Kishtwar, Ramban, and Jammu, and Tawi in Udhampur and Jammu—rose sharply, prompting disaster response teams and local police to remain on alert.
So far, there are no confirmed casualties, but landslides have occurred in Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu region and Gurez in north Kashmir.
In terms of rainfall, Udhampur recorded 144.2 mm, Katra 115 mm, Samba 109 mm, and Kathua 90.2 mm. Srinagar, the summer capital, recorded 13.5 mm, officials said.
