Another J&K cloudburst kills 7 in Kathua, 5 of them minors

Seven persons, including five minors, were killed after a flashflood and landslide triggered by a cloudburst struck their houses in two villages of Kathua district on Sunday. The incident comes three days after a cloudburst in Kishtwar claimed over 60 lives.

The road and rail connectivity came to a standstill for hours before the administration, Army and NDRF swung into action. The Centre is closely monitoring the situation to avoid any further loss of lives in the backdrop of the Kishtwar incident.

Surmu Din (30) and his sons Fanu (6), Shedu (5), Tahu (2) and Zulfan (15), all from Jodh village, were killed after a flashflood hit their village following the cloudburst. On the other hand, Renu Devi (39) and her daughter Radhika (9) from Janglot village died in a landslide.

The injured have been identified as Gogli Begum (26) and her daughter Nageena (3 months), and Karoon Begum (26) and her daughters Rafia (4) Aisha (6) and Parveen Akhter (8).

In a post on X, Home Minister Amit Shah said, “Spoke with the Lieutenant Governor and Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir regarding the cloudburst in Kathua. Relief and rescue operations are being carried out by the local administration and NDRF teams have also been rushed to the site. Assured every support from the government. We stand firmly behind our sisters and brothers of J&K.”

The landslide triggered by rains also hit Changda village under the jurisdiction of the Kathua police station and Dilwan-Hutli in the Lakhanpur police station area, but no major damage was reported. The Kathua police station was also inundated due to the heavy rain.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed grief over the loss of lives and extensive damage caused by the cloudburst and landslides in several parts of Kathua.

To provide immediate relief, he announced ex-gratia assistance from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund that would be in addition to the support from the State Disaster Response Fund. The financial assistance includes Rs 2 lakh to the kin of each deceased, Rs 1 lakh to those severely injured and Rs 50,000 to those with minor injuries. For the damage to houses, Rs 1 lakh will be given for fully damaged houses, Rs 50,000 for severely damaged houses and Rs 25,000 for partially damaged houses.

The CM directed the administration to take immediate relief, rescue and evacuation steps to ensure the safety of the affected families and to extend full support to them.

Minister of State Jitendra Singh said helicopter services had been deployed for shifting the injured to hospitals. “Six injured have been airlifted for hospitalisation in Mamoon, Pathankot. DIG (Police) Shiv Kumar Sharma, along with his team, is camping at the spot,” he said.

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said, “Deeply anguished by the loss of lives in the devastating landslides in several areas of Kathua. The tragedy is mind-numbing."