Eight killed, six missing as floods and landslides hit J&K’s Poonch, Rajour
Srinagar : At least eight people were killed and six others went missing after torrential rains triggered landslides and flash floods in the border districts of Poonch and Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, prompting a large-scale multi-agency rescue operation.
The worst damage was reported from Surankote tehsil in Poonch, where most of the fatalities occurred. Rescue teams continued efforts to trace the missing people amid persistent rainfall, damaged roads and difficult conditions.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who was in Delhi to attend a planned protest for the restoration of statehood, said he would cut short his visit and return to Jammu in the afternoon to review the worsening situation across parts of the Jammu division.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha also reviewed the flood situation in the affected districts and directed officials to ensure immediate relief and assistance for affected families.
In Surankote’s Lower Murrah village, a landslide triggered by heavy rainfall struck a house in the early hours of Sunday, burying all eight occupants under the debris. Officials said rescue teams recovered the bodies of 60-year-old Bano Bi and two-year-old Sofian Yasar, while efforts continued to locate the remaining six missing people, including a woman and four children.
A 28-year-old woman, Nazia Kousar, died after her house collapsed in Noonabandi village. Her husband, Mohd Hafiz, and their three children, aged between two and six years, were rescued with injuries and admitted to hospital.
In other incidents, 22-year-old Shahzaib Ahmad was killed after his house collapsed in Sanglani-Surankote, while a minor girl, Iram, drowned in a stream at Marhote. Officials also recovered the body of an unidentified woman from a stream near the Dhundak Lathoong bridge.
One person was killed and another critically injured after several houses collapsed in Haveli tehsil of Poonch district. In Rajouri town, which was hit by flash floods following incessant overnight rainfall, the body of a woman was recovered from a river. Hundreds of residents were shifted to safer locations after floodwaters entered low-lying areas.
Several vehicles were swept away or submerged after rivers overflowed and breached their banks, causing widespread disruption across the region.
Rescue and relief teams, assisted by the local administration, continued evacuating affected residents and assessing the extent of the damage. Local Congress MLA Iftikhar Ahmad said the floods had caused extensive damage to both public and private property.
The Meteorological Department has warned of moderate to heavy rainfall across Jammu and Kashmir until July 23. Poonch and Rajouri witnessed relentless rainfall from Saturday evening, causing rivers and streams to swell after a night of heavy downpour.
Rajouri MLA Ahmed, who was scheduled to join his party’s statehood restoration protest outside Lok Bhavan in Jammu, returned to his constituency to assess the flood situation.
"I have abandoned my party programme to stand with my people, as the flash floods have caused extensive damage to public and private property," Ahmad said.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said he was returning from Delhi and would personally monitor the situation on the ground.
"Since first light this morning, I have been closely monitoring the situation arising from the extremely heavy rain in parts of Jammu, especially Rajouri town and surrounding areas. I have been in touch with the local MLAs of the region. While the situation continues to unfold, the first priority of the administration is to safeguard precious lives," Abdullah said in a post on X.
He added that the government would provide all possible assistance to people affected by the rains and flash floods.
Abdullah also said the National Conference’s planned statehood protest in Delhi on July 20 would continue as scheduled under the leadership of party president Farooq Abdullah.
