Flash flood claims at least 34 lives in Held Kashmir, 200 missing
SRINAGAR: At least 34 people were feared dead and 200 missing following sudden, heavy rain that generated flash flood in Indian-held Kashmir, an official said on Thursday, which could be the result of a cloudburst.
“We have found 34 dead bodies and rescued 35 injured people,” said Pankaj Kumar Sharma, district commissioner of Kishtwar. “There are chances of more dead bodies being found.”
The disaster occurred in Chasoti town of Kishtwar district, a pit stop on a popular pilgrimage route. It comes a little over a week after a heavy flood and mudslide engulfed an entire village in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand.
On the other hand, an official in Kishtwar district, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said initial reports “suggest around 50 people were washed away” in the flood.
Read more: 100 missing, four dead as flash flood hits Indian village
Press Trust of India (PTI) reported that 12 bodies had been recovered, citing officials who warned that the toll could rise.
“The news is grim and accurate, verified information from the area hit by the cloudburst is slow in arriving,” Omar Abdullah, the chief minister of India’s federal territory of Jammu and Kashmir, said in a post on X.
His office said he “expressed deep sorrow over the tragic cloudburst” in Kishtwar, and offered “condolences to the bereaved families”.
Visuals on television showed pilgrims crying in fear as water flooded the village.
Local TV channels said the flood water had washed away community kitchens set up for pilgrims.
CLOUDBURST
Rescue teams are likely to face difficulty reaching the area.
Roads had already been damaged by days of heavy storms. The area lies more than 200 kilometres from the (125 miles) from the region’s main city Srinagar.
A cloudburst, according to the Indian Meteorological Department, is a sudden, intense downpour of over 100 mm (4 inches) of rain in just one hour that can trigger sudden floods, landslides, and devastation, especially in mountainous regions during the monsoon.
The UN’s World Meteorological Organization said last year that increasingly intense floods and droughts are a “distress signal” of what is to come as climate change makes the planet’s water cycle ever more unpredictable.
It’s a developing story. Details to follow.
