Officials reported the death of at least 4 persons and injuries on 6 others in the aftermath of flash floods which hit Ghati village and the surrounding in Jammu and Kashmirs Kathua district early on Sunday morning occurring due to heavy rains. The event happened between 3.30am and 4 am leaving in its wake a lot of destruction and making the remote village inaccessible.
As reported by the police inspector Ajay Singh in Rajabagh police station, advance parties were send out instantly to the spot. The police, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and citizens of the area announced a collective rescue mission to find the missing and safety evacuate the trapped. The casualties were confirmed by district police chief Shobhit Saxena who said that though early reports indicated cloudbursts, flash floods were to blame. He also stated that army has been put on alert and is in standby position ready to help in case of necessity.
Sadly, another family is also feared to be buried in the debris after a landslide developed following a devastating landslide hit Juthana Jod near Ghati at about the same time the floods were experienced. The rescue teams are in the field in their endeavors to find the victims.
This has been a dire follow up to a similar, though not an identical calamity in Kishtwar district a few days ago where at least 60 citizens lost their lives due to a cloudburst. Although initially, the speculation may have been that it was a cloudburst in Kathua, the Indian Meteorological Department uses the definition of such downpour to be more than 100 mm of rain lasts within a period of one hour. The authorities stated that it is not yet technically established whether last Sunday incident fits this category or not.
The summer rains are still falling in some regions of Jammu and Kashmir, and officials have insisted on people taking caution when it comes to places that are prone to landslides and the hilly regions. The disaster has brought back the issue of the susceptibility of the region to extreme weather conditions, causing worries over how prepared the region is in the case of such an event.
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