SRINAGAR, (India): Floods and landslides triggered by record-breaking rain killed at least 11 people, including four children, in India’s Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Saturday (Aug 30).
An intense monsoon rainstorm in the Indian-administered territory since Aug 26 has caused widespread chaos, with raging water smashing into bridges and swamping homes.
A local disaster official told AFP that Ramban and Reasi districts were hit by heavy rain and landslides on the night of Aug 29, killing 11 people.
One child aged five, who was trapped in the debris, was still missing, he added.
On Aug 27, a landslide slammed the pilgrimage route to the Hindu shrine of Vaishno Devi in Jammu, killing 41 people.
India’s Meteorological Department said the torrential rain smashed records at two locations in the region.
Jammu and Udhampur logged their highest 24-hour rainfall on Aug 27, with 296mm in Jammu, 9 per cent higher than the 1973 record, and 629.4mm in Udhampur – a staggering 84 per cent surge over the 2019 mark.
Floods and landslides are common during the June-September monsoon season. But experts said climate change, coupled with poorly planned development, is increasing their frequency, severity and impact.
Climate experts from the Himalayan-focused International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development warn that a spate of disasters illustrates the dangers when extreme rain combines with mountain slopes weakened by melting permafrost, as well as building developments in flood-prone valleys.
Powerful torrents driven by intense rain smashed into Chisoti village in Indian-administered Kashmir on Aug 14, killing at least 65 people and leaving another 33 missing.
Floods on Aug 5 overwhelmed the Himalayan town of Dharali in India’s Uttarakhand state and buried it in mud. The likely death toll from that disaster is more than 70 but has not been confirmed. - AFP
