Cloudburst in higher reaches of Amarnath shrine: No loss of lives or property

Earlier, at least seven people were killed and 17 others were injured, five of them critically while 26 remained missing after flash floods hit Honjar village in Jammu & Kashmir’s Kishtwar district following a cloud burst around 4am on Wednesday.

Another suspected cloudburst took place in higher reaches of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday afternoon, sending gusts of water near the holy cave area of Hindu shrine of Shri Amarnathji and resulting in heavy discharge of water in the nallah adjoining the holy cave, officials said.

Police, army personnel and State Disaster Response Force were involved in rescue operations after flash floods were reported following cloudburst in Kishtwar district and near the Amarnath shrine cave in Jammu and Kashmir. (PTI)

The joint team of Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), police and army acted swiftly and evacuated all the staff close to the Nallah preventing any loss of human lives or property, officials said.

“The situation is under control and the flow of water in the nallah is normal. A team of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) is camping at Baltal and is on stand-by to meet future challenges. An NDRF team is also on stand-by in Srinagar to tackle natural calamities due to incessant rain in the region. The SASB and the administration are closely monitoring the situation,” Jammu and Kashmir lieutenant governor (L-G) Manoj Sinha said.

As per the latest report, the shrine is safe. Union home minister Amit Shah also spoke to the L-G, who briefed him about the present situation and efforts made by the joint team of officials, police and army.

Earlier on Wednesday, at least seven people were killed and 17 others were injured, five of them critically while 26 remained missing after flash floods hit Honjar village in Jammu & Kashmir’s Kishtwar district following a cloud burst around 4am. Officials said they managed to rescue 17 people amid heavy rain in the region.

At least 16 people were killed and 30 others were either injured or missing due to flash floods triggered by torrential showers in the hills of northern India on Wednesday. Authorities reported two separate cloudburst incidents in J&K’s Kishtwar district on Wednesday morning and Himachal Pradesh’s Lahaul-Spiti on Tuesday night.

Flash floods were reported from Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and J&K with experts linking the devastating downpours to climate change.