Vaishno Devi Landslide Disaster: 30 Killed, Several Injured As Heavy Rains Batter Jammu and Kashmir

A massive landslide on Mata Vaishno Devi Yatra (pilgrimage) path on Trikuta hills in Katra, Jammu and Kashmir province, from over excessive rains killed at least 30 people and injured 23 others on Wednesday. It destroyed the pilgrimage route to the sacred shrine. Army, NDRF, SDRF, J&K Police along with local volunteers are working all night and day to locate survivors and recover bodies, search and rescue operations are underway.

According to authorities, the entire area has been hit nearly continuously by rains since Tuesday, and flash floods, landslides and serious destruction to infrastructure have occurred in Jammu and Kashmir. Bridges were washed away in Jammu, power lines were cut, and mobile antennae were brought down leaving many districts with a communication blackout. Over 3,500 people were also moved to safer locations as Associations of Jammu and Kashmir warned of heavy rainfall and a potential for cloudbursts until August 27. 

All operations in Jammu division are still functioning as schools have still not opened and Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education has postponed the 10th and 11th class examinations.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed condolences on the tragedy, offering sympathies to all the affected families. The correct operations for relief is to set up temporary camps for displaced persons providing food, water, and medical relief while officials continue relocating residents from risk-prone areas to safer areas.

Disaster-Chisoti Cloudburst Kills 65 in Jammu and Kashmir

The tragedy occurred after 12 days following a cloudburst in Kishtwar’s Chisoti village, that had claimed the lives of 65 people, who were mainly the pilgrims en route to Machail Mata temple. A cloudburst had struck the Chisoti village on August 14, resulting in torrential flash floods that incurred irreparable damage to homes, lives, and livelihoods in the geologically fragile mountainous terrain. The 62 victims had been recovered and 33 remained unidentified. The local authorities started the DNA profiling of the unidentified dead and the skeletal remains that were found in the wreckage in order to assist families in detaining their missing loved ones.

The cloudburst was a catastrophic calamity that reminds one of the geologically predisposed fragile topography of Jammu and Kashmir and its hilly terrain. After the recent deluge in Jammu and Kashmir, again the India Meteorological Department had predicted heavy rain as there could be a possibility of flash floods and landslides. As more rescue and relief operations are being carried out across the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, affected areas are currently on high alert.

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