Rescue personnel conduct a rescue operation to rescue two men stranded in a river after flash floods caused by incessant overnight rainfall, in Rajouri, Jammu and Kashmir
| Photo Credit:
Heavy rain killed at least 11 people and swept away more than 150 vehicles in India’s Jammu region on Sunday after flash floods and landslides ripped through the border districts of Rajouri and Poonch, prompting authorities to suspend the annual Amarnath pilgrimage.Officials said several people were missing as rescue teams searched for survivors in the worst-hit areas. Commercial properties suffered damage worth crores of rupees, while videos shared online showed vehicles being swept away by the raging currents of flood-swollen rivers.In Lower Murrah village of Surankote, a landslide buried at least eight members of a family beneath the debris of their house. Rescuers recovered five bodies and continued searching for the remaining occupants.Officials said six more people died in separate rain-related incidents across Rajouri and Poonch. The victims included a woman and a 22-year-old man killed in house collapses, a minor girl who drowned in a stream, one person killed in Haveli tehsil after houses collapsed, and two unidentified women whose bodies were recovered from water bodies in Poonch and Rajouri.Officials also said four members of another family were missing after flash floods swept away their house in Singal village.Rajouri MLA Iftikhar Ahmad told businessline that more than 150 vehicles were swept away and property worth crores of rupees was damaged in the district.“A local bus stand where vehicles had been parked was washed away, while floodwaters damaged several commercial establishments,” Ahmad said. He added that residents living along riverbanks had been shifted to safer locations and a rehabilitation centre had been set up at the Government Boys Higher Secondary School in Rajouri.Amarnath pilgrimage suspendedAuthorities temporarily suspended the annual Amarnath Yatra from both the Pahalgam and Baltal routes because of the adverse weather.Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Anshul Garg said no fresh batch of pilgrims would be allowed to proceed from the Baltal, Nunwan and Chandanwari base camps until weather conditions improved.Omar cuts visitChief Minister Omar Abdullah cut short his visit to New Delhi, where he was scheduled to lead the National Conference’s statehood protest on July 20, and returned to Jammu to monitor the situation.He said the protest would go ahead under the leadership of National Conference president Farooq Abdullah. “Amid 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. The statehood protest will go ahead under the leadership of @JKNC_ President Dr Farooq Abdullah as planned,” CM posted on X.Published on July 19, 2026
