A bridge over the Sahar Khad river near the Jammu-Pathankot Highway in Jammu and Kashmir’s (J-K) Kathua has been damaged after the river began flowing in spate due to continuous rains in the region.
The incident has disrupted traffic on the highway, a key arterial route. Local administration teams are monitoring the situation closely.
The Jammu region has been experiencing intense monsoon showers for the past few days, causing rivers to swell, triggering landslides, and disrupting normal life in low-lying and hilly areas.
Earlier, seven people lost their lives and 11 others were injured in a cloudburst that struck Kathua district in Jammu & Kashmir on August 17.
The sudden deluge triggered massive landslides and flooding, causing the tragic loss of lives and extensive damage to infrastructure. Reacting with urgency, Army relief columns with an Engineer detachment were immediately pressed into action to the worst-affected regions of Jhor Khad and Bagra villages.
A cloudburst during the Machail Mata Yatra on August 14 led to flash floods that killed at least 55 people in Kishtwar.
Following the incident, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on August 19 that it might be impossible to find anyone survivors. He said that the disaster took place due to a cloudburst rather than a breach of glacial lakes.
“Finding the missing persons alive now looks nearly impossible. In these circumstances, we will try to retrieve as many bodies and hand them over to their loved ones. According to the information we have received so far, the disaster that happened in Kishtwar was due to a cloudburst and not a glacial lake breach,” Abdullah told reporters.
