A sudden heavy rains have taken dozens of lives in India-controlled Kashmir, highlighting the second most recent disaster highlighting the vulnerability of people living in the Himalayas to the effects of extreme weather.
At least 46 people have been killed and more than 200 have gone missing in the town of Chashoti, a popular pilgrimage destination for Hindu tourists, Reuters reported citing local officials.
Flash floods caused by the rain turned roads into a heavy river, but the heavy rains destroyed the entire building and wiped out vehicles, a dramatic video shared on social media showed.
One of the videos showed us a wall of water, mud and debris rolling down the mountainside.
Rescue operations are being worked by Army and police personnel to find missing people.
“The news is harsh and accurate,” Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Omar Abdullah wrote in a social media post. “All possible resources are mobilised both internally and externally to manage rescue operations.”
Some of the rescued people were taken to hospital.
India’s Weather Service said the rain was due to “cloud bursts,” a sudden torrential rain with more than 100 mm (4 inches) of rain in just an hour. It can cause sudden floods, landslides and devastation, especially in mountainous areas during monsoons.
Earlier this month, another surge in flood waters ripped apart a mountain village in the Himalayas in northern Uttarakhand, killing at least four people.
Abdullah said it had cancelled several events planned to celebrate India’s independence anniversary on Friday.
The floods on Thursday washed away the community’s kitchens and security posts at pit stops along the pilgrimage route, Reuters reported citing local officials whose names were denied because they were not allowed to speak to the media.
“A large number of pilgrims gathered for lunch and they were washed away,” officials said.
Machail Yatra is a popular pilgrimage to pilgrims from Chasoti to temples from one of the symptoms of Goddess Durga, and the highland Himalaya shrines at Masirmata, and the vehicle path ends.
The disaster occurred at 11:30am local time, Kishtwar district department director Ramesh Kumar told news agency ANI, adding that local police and disaster response officials had reached the scene.
“The Army and Air Force teams are also being revitalized. Search and rescue operations are ongoing,” Kumar said.
