Landslides, Rain fury claims 43 lives in Jammu Kashmir, Vaishno Devi yatra suspended

August 27, 2025 by News Desk

Representational Image

After record rains battered Jammu Kashmir for two straight days, the death toll from rain-related incidents has climbed to 43, with most victims killed in a massive landslide along the Vaishno Devi pilgrimage route in Reasi district.

Although showers eased on Wednesday, swollen rivers and widespread damage left a grim trail across the region.

Officials said the Jhelum river breached flood alert levels in Anantnag and Srinagar, inundating several residential and commercial areas. In Srinagar, water entered parts of Rajbagh, Bemina, Kursu and Sekidafar, while markets in main Anantnag town were submerged.

The district court complex in Anantnag was also flooded, forcing the evacuation of judges and staff by SDRF teams in boats. More than 10,000 people have been shifted from low-lying areas to safety across Kashmir and Jammu region.

The landslide on the Vaishno Devi route near Ardhkuwari has so far claimed 34 lives, with rescuers continuing to pull out bodies from debris and search for survivors. At least 20 pilgrims were injured and are under treatment in various hospitals. The pilgrimage has been suspended for the second consecutive day.

In Anantnag town, two persons died in Ganjiwara market while attempting to recover their belongings from floodwaters.

Elsewhere, four people, including three women, died in Doda district on Tuesday, while three more bodies were recovered in Jammu region — one of a BSF jawan in Pragwal, another in Akhnoor (yet to be identified), and one of an irrigation department employee in Lakhanpur near the Punjab border.

Officials also reported massive damage to bridges, houses and infrastructure, with floodwaters sweeping away 10 residential houses and a bridge in Kishtwar’s Margi area, though no casualties were reported there. The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway and several other roads remain closed due to landslides.

The Northern Railways cancelled 58 trains to and from Jammu and Katra, while 64 were short-terminated or diverted. Rail services briefly resumed on Wednesday morning before being suspended again due to flash floods and soil erosion near the Chakki river.

Jammu recorded 380 mm of rainfall in 24 hours till 8:30 am Wednesday, the highest since records began in 1910.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who flew to Jammu from Srinagar to oversee relief operations, said there was “slight relief” as rains stopped and water levels began receding from 11 am. He also briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the situation. Modi, in a post on X, expressed grief over the loss of lives and assured assistance.

Phone and internet services, which had been disrupted due to damage to optical fibres, were restored across all networks on Wednesday after 24 hours of outage.

Meanwhile, Education Minister Sakina Itoo announced the closure of all educational institutions on Thursday due to the inclement weather. The weather department said that while skies remained cloudy, the intensity of rainfall had decreased, bringing some respite after two days of devastation.