J&K flash floods: 12 dead, several missing as landslides hit Poonch-Rajouri; CM assures help while rescue ops underway

In a tragic incident, at least 12 people lost their lives and several others were reported missing after heavy rainfall triggered landslides and flash floods across the border districts of Poonch and Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, according to officials. The extreme weather caused extensive damage to roads, houses, and other public and private infrastructure.

The disaster prompted Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to cancel his planned participation in the National Conference's statehood protest in Delhi on Monday and travel to Jammu to assess the situation and monitor relief operations. He arrived at the Civil Secretariat at around 6 pm and chaired a high-level review meeting.

Officials said the worst-hit area was Surankote tehsil in Poonch district, where most of the deaths were reported, while rescue teams continued efforts to locate those still missing.

‘Rescue efforts are ongoing’: DC

Deputy Commissioner Poonch Ashok Kumar Sharma said at least 16 persons are feared dead in the district with bodies of nine recovered so far.

"The rescue efforts are ongoing while all measures are being taken to provide immediate relief to the affected population," Sharma, who visited various flood-hit areas during the day, told PTI on phone.

However, a police official said one more body was recovered in Surankote area of Poonch in the evening taking the death toll to 10, while two persons including a woman lost their lives in flash floods in Rajouri district.

Lt Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Abdullah expressed their grief over the loss of lives in the natural fury and assured rehabilitation of the affected population.

Former chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and CPI(M) leader M Y Tarigami also extended heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and expressed solidarity with all those affected by the calamity.

Victims in &K flash floods

In the most heart-wrenching incident, eight members of a family were buried when their house on the banks of a stream came under a landslide following a cloudburst in lower Murrah village of Surankote early Sunday, the officials said.

While bodies of three persons, including a two-year-old boy, Sofian Yasar, were retrieved from the debris, a search operation was continuing to trace the remaining missing persons, they said.

Four members of another family were reported missing after their house was washed away by flash floods at Sangla village, the officials said, adding the missing persons include Abdul Hameed, his wife Sharifa Begum, daughter Areeba and sister Manira Begum. Bodies of two of the missing persons were retrieved, the officials said.

A 28-year-old woman, Nazia Kousar, was killed when her house collapsed in Noonabandi village. Her Husband, Mohd Hafiz, and three children, aged between two and six years, were rescued with injuries and shifted to a hospital, officials said.

Shahzaib Ahmad (22) lost his life when his house collapsed at Sanglani-Surankote, while a minor girl identified as Iram drowned in a stream at Marhote. An unidentified body of a woman was also fished out from a stream near Dhundak Lathoong bridge, the officials said.

One person was killed and another critically injured following collapse of nearly half-a-dozen houses in Haveli tehsil of Poonch district, they said.

Officials said the body of a woman, identified as Pinky, was recovered from a river in Rajouri town after flash floods triggered by continuous overnight rainfall. The flooding forced hundreds of residents to evacuate to safer areas as water entered low-lying localities. Another body was also recovered from a river in the Nowshera area of the district.

According to officials, several vehicles were either swept away or left submerged after rivers overflowed their banks, causing major disruption across the affected areas.

Rescue and relief teams, along with the local administration, continued evacuation efforts and carried out damage assessments. Local Congress MLA Iftkhar Ahmad said the flash floods had caused significant damage to both public and private property.

Meanwhile, with a weather advisory forecasting moderate to heavy rainfall across Jammu and Kashmir until July 23, Rajouri and Poonch witnessed persistent rain from Saturday evening, resulting in overflowing rivers and streams following intense overnight showers.

Rajouri MLA ‘abandoned party programme to stand with people’

Rajouri MLA Ahmed, who was scheduled to participate in his party's protest in support of the restoration of statehood outside Lok Bhavan in Jammu on Sunday, returned to his hometown to assess the flood situation.

"I have abandoned my party programme to stand with my people, as the flash floods have caused extensive damage to public and private property," Ahmad said.

CM Omar Abdullah reacts

Abdullah, who was in Delhi ahead of the National Conference's planned statehood protest on Monday, cut short his visit and returned to Jammu on Sunday afternoon following the deteriorating situation caused by heavy rainfall across parts of the Jammu division.

Abdullah took to X and mentioned he was returning from Delhi to personally oversee the situation on the ground.

"In light of the weather warning put out by the meteorological department and the seriousness of the situation unfolding across parts of Jammu division, I will leave Delhi to fly to Jammu this afternoon to personally monitor the situation on the ground," he said.

"Since first light this morning I've been closely monitoring the situation arising from the extremely heavy rain in parts of Jammu, especially Rajouri town & surrounding areas. I've been in touch with the local MLAs of the region. While the situation continues to unfold the first priority of the administration is to safeguard precious lives. The government will do everything possible to aid & assist affected people who have suffered property loss/damage due to the rains & flash floods," he said.

He also clarified that the National Conference's statehood protest scheduled for July 20 in the national capital would go ahead as planned under the leadership of party president Farooq Abdullah.