As many as seven persons were killed in Reasi, while at least three people died and two went missing after a cloudburst in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ramban on Saturday, officials said.
A search operation to find
the missing ones was launched. Several houses were also damaged in the incident in Ramban.
In Reasi, seven members of a family were confirmed dead after a landslide struck and destroyed their house in a remote village early today, officials said.
The landslide was triggered by the heavy rains in the Badder village of Mahore.
Among those dead were the owner of the house, Nazir Ahmad, his wife, and five minor sons.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah condoled the deaths of the residents. “Chief Minister has expressed deep anguish over the loss of lives due to landslide in Rajgarh, Ramban. He has directed the administration to carry out immediate rescue & relief operations,” CMO tweeted.
An orange alert was issued for Ramban, Jammu, Poonch, Kishtwar, and Udhampur, amid heavy rainfall in the area.
The cloudburst comes as Jammu and Kashmir has been battling floods and landslides triggered by heavy rain for some days. At least 36 people in the Union Territory were killed in the incident. Severe damage to infrastructure was also reported across the region.
Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed heavy rains in the last few days, impacting the daily lives of the residents. Road connectivity was majorly hit as routes such as the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway were damaged.
“Several roads were damaged due to the rain in the past few days. The NH-44 is closed. It might open this evening or by tomorrow morning,” Deputy Commissioner Ashok Kumar Sharma told news agency ANI.
The authorities have ordered the schools across the Jammu division to remain shut till August 30 in view of heavy rain triggering severe conditions that were impacting daily operations. Schools were asked to ascertain if online classes for students in Classes 9-12 can be conducted.
