A day after sudden floods from heavy rains killed at least 60 and left 200 missing, rescuers in Jammu and Kashmir used shovels and earthmovers on Friday to search for survivors beneath boulders and debris.
Gushing mudslides and floodwaters inundated the village of Chasoti on Thursday, washing away pilgrims who had gathered for lunch before trekking up the hill for a popular religious site, in the second such disaster in the Himalayas in a little over a week.
“We heard a huge sound, and it was followed by a flash flood and slush. People were shouting, and some of them fell into the Chenab River. Others were buried under the debris,” said Rakesh Sharma, a pilgrim who was injured.
Bags, clothes and other belongings, caked in mud, lay scattered amid broken electric poles and mud on Friday, as rescue workers used ropes and crossed makeshift bridges in an attempt to extricate people from the debris.
60 Killed, Hundreds Missing
At least 60 people were killed, more than 100 injured, and another 200 still missing, Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah told reporters on Friday.
The Himalayas are prone to floods and landslides, but some scientists say the intensity and frequency of these events are increasing due to climate change.
The Machail Yatra is a popular pilgrimage to the high-altitude Himalayan shrine of Machail Mata, one of the manifestations of the Goddess Durga. Pilgrims trek to the temple from Chasoti, where the road for vehicles ends.
Dharali Flash Floods
Thursday’s incident comes a little over a week after a similar flood and mudslide engulfed an entire village in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand.
“Nature has been testing us. In the last few days, we have had to deal with landslides, cloudbursts and other natural calamities,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the start of a nearly two-hour speech on the country’s 79th Independence Day.
A cloudburst, according to the Indian Meteorological Department, is a sudden, intense downpour of over 100 mm (4 inches) of rain in just one hour that can trigger sudden floods, landslides, and devastation, especially in mountainous regions during the monsoon.
Floods In Nepal, Pakistan
In neighbouring Nepal, at least 41 people have died, 21 are missing, and 121 others were injured in floods, heavy rains, landslides and hailstorms since early monsoon rains started in June this year, according to data provided by the country’s disaster management authority.
And more than 50 people were killed overnight in rain-related incidents across the mountainous north of Pakistan, rescue officials said on Friday. Flooding and the collapse of the roofs of houses caused the deaths.
In Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), where eight people were killed – including six members of a family buried in the debris of their home – evacuation operations were ongoing for stranded domestic tourists.
(With inputs from Reuters)
