Jammu/Srinagar, 27 Aug

After record rains over the past two days, the death toll in related incidents in Jammu and Kashmir rose to 36, most of them victims of the landslide on a Vaishno Devi route, while there was some let-up in the showers on Wednesday, allowing relief efforts to pick up pace.

The water level in the swollen rivers across Jammu showed signs of receding, but the flood alert mark was breached by the Jhelum in Anantnag and Srinagar and water entered several residential areas, prompting authorities to assure residents that they are monitoring the situation and people should not panic.

Massive damage has been reported to public infrastructure, including several key bridges, private houses and commercial establishments, due to overflowing of water bodies and flash floods across the Union Territory, officials said.

Telecom services also got partially restored after remaining suspended for over 22 hours, while Chief Minister Omar Abdullah rushed to Jammu from Srinagar to personally review the situation in the region.

At least 20 people were injured in the landslide triggered by incessant heavy rain and are undergoing treatment in different hospitals, officials said, adding the landslide struck near the Inderprastha Bhojnalaya at Ardhkuwari, about halfway along the winding 12-km trek from Katra to the shrine, at around 3 PM on Tuesday.

With fears that more people could be trapped, rescue teams are continuing to dig through the mounds of rubble to look for survivors. While 30 bodies were recovered from the debris, two of those injured died in hospital.

The pilgrimage to the shrine remained suspended for the second day. While the yatra had been stopped on the Himkoti trek route since morning on Tuesday, it was going on on the old route till afternoon when authorities decided to suspend it as a precautionary measure.

Jammu had recorded 380 mm of rainfall in the past 24 hours ending at 8.30 am on Wednesday, which is the highest for a 24-hour period since 1910 when the observatory was set up in the winter capital.

Heavy rains were also experienced in the Kashmir valley overnight, where the main Jhelum river has crossed the flood alert mark of 21 ft at Sangam in Anantnag district and 18 ft downstream at Ram Munshi Bagh in Srinagar this morning.

Four people, including three women, lost their lives in Doda district on Tuesday, while the Jammu-Srinagar national highway remained closed for vehicular traffic, along with over a dozen other roads struck by landslides over the past couple of days.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his prayers are for everyone's safety and well-being.

"The loss of lives due to a landslide on the route to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Temple is saddening. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. May the injured recover at the earliest. The administration is assisting all those affected," he said in a post on X.

Chief Minister Abdullah said he has briefed Prime Minister Modi on the situation arising from heavy rains and flooding in the Jammu region and expressed gratitude for his assurance of continued assistance to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

The chief minister said they were slightly relieved as the rain had stopped on Wednesday.

Officials said more than 10,000 people have been evacuated from low-lying flooded areas across Jammu and Kashmir.

They said a flash flood washed away 10 residential houses and a bridge in the remote Margi area of Kishtwar district, but there was no immediate report of any casualties.

The rains continued non-stop in most parts of the Jammu region over the past 24 hours with almost all water bodies, including Tawi, Chenab, Ujh, Ravi and Basanter, flowing several feet above the danger mark, the officials said.

However, the water level in most of the water bodies started receding after the rains stopped at around 11 am, though the weather remained cloudy.

On 14 August, a cloudburst triggered flash floods in Chisoti, the last motorable village en route to the Machail Mata shrine, in Kishtwar district leaving behind a trail of death and destruction. At least 65 people, mostly pilgrims, were killed and more than 100 were injured, while 32 are still missing.