Incessant rains triggers flood-like situation across J-K; several rivers in spate

JAMMU: Continuous heavy rainfall has been witnessed in several parts of Jammu & Kashmir, with rivers swelling and flash flood-like conditions reported across multiple districts.

In Rajouri, incessant downpours have led to flood-like conditions, forcing authorities to remain on high alert. In Doda’s Bhalesa and Bhaderwah areas, torrential rains continued for the second consecutive day, triggering flood-like conditions.

Amid incessant rainfall, the Tawi river is in full spate, while in Srinagar, the Jhelum river’s water level rose significantly.

Similarly, the Chenab River is in full spate due to continuous showers in the upper regions. Many houses are inundated as the water from the Chenab river has entered their homes due to the rise in water levels caused by heavy rains.

Sunil Kumar Bhutyal, ADC Bhaderwah, said that the Jammu & Kashmir Meteorological Department has issued a fresh advisory, warning of heavy rainfall, cloudbursts, landslides, and mudslides in different districts. Schools have been closed in affected areas, while people have been urged to stay indoors and avoid travelling near water bodies.

“Even in Bhaderwah, there has been heavy rainfall since morning. Water level has started rising in nallahs…People should step out of their houses only in situations of emergency. Interstate roads, especially the Bhaderwah-Chamba road, have been closed. No vehicle is moving to and fro Chamba and Bhaderwah. We have conveyed this to the Chamba Administration… All our teams are on alert”, Bhaderwah ADC Bhutyal said.

Meanwhile, amid heavy rainfall in several Indian states, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued red alert warnings for several districts across Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, northern Punjab, northern Haryana, eastern Rajasthan, southwest Uttar Pradesh, northwest & eastern Madhya Pradesh and Odisha.

According to IMD, districts under red alert in Jammu & Kashmir include Poonch, Mirpur, Rajouri, Reasi, Jammu, Ramban, Udhampur, Samba, Kathua, Doda, and Kishtwar. In Punjab, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Nawashahr, Rupnagar, Moga, Ludhiana, Barnala, and Sangrur are under red alert; while in Himachal Pradesh, Mandi, Una, Bilaspur, Sirmaur, and Solan are under similar warnings. Haryana’s Yamuna Nagar, Ambala, Kurukshetra, Panchkula, and SAS Nagar are also under the same warning.

Between 8.30 am on Tuesday and 5.30 am on Wednesday, several regions in Jammu & Kashmir witnessed significant rainfall. The highest was recorded in Reasi at 203 mm, followed closely by Katra at 193 mm, Batote at 157.3 mm, Doda at 114 mm, and Baderwah at 96.2 mm. Jammu city itself received 81 mm, while other stations such as Banihal (95 mm), Ramban (82 mm), Kokernag (68.2 mm), and Pahalgam (55 mm) also saw heavy rainfall.

Moreover, rainfall was also reported in Srinagar (32 mm), Samba (48 mm), Kishtwar (50 mm), Rajouri (57.4 mm), Srinagar (32 mm) and Qazigund (68 mm) during the same period. Fresh data up to 6:45 am on September 3 showed extremely heavy rainfall in Jammu & Kashmir’s Reasi at 230.5 mm.

Apart from Jammu & Kashmir, widespread rainfall was also observed across several states. From 8:30 pm on Tuesday to 5:30 am on Wednesday, heavy rainfall occurred in Chhattisgarh, while moderate rainfall was reported in parts of Haryana, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, coastal Odisha, coastal Maharashtra, coastal Karnataka, and the Andaman Islands. (ANI)