Flash floods, landslides leave 12 dead in Poonch-Rajouri; several missing

LG Sinha reviews situation; Rescue operations intensified; Omar rushes back to Jammu, chairs high-level review

20/07/2026

JAMMU, Jul 19: At least 12 people were killed and several others went missing as torrential rains triggered cloudbursts, flash floods and landslides across the twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri on Sunday, c-ausing widespread damage to houses, roads and other infrastructure and prompting massive multi-agency rescue operations.
The worst devastation was reported from Surankote tehsil of Poonch district, where most of the casualties occurred. Poonch Deputy Commissioner Ashok Kumar Sharma said at least 16 people were feared dead in the district, with nine bodies recovered till then. A police official later said another body was recovered in Surankote, taking the number of bodies retrieved in Poonch to 10.
Two people, including a woman, were also killed in flash floods in Rajouri district, taking the confirmed death toll in the twin border districts to 12, officials said.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah cut short his stay in New Delhi and rushed back to Jammu to oversee the rescue and relief operations. He reached the Civil Secretariat around 6 pm and chaired a high-level meeting to review the situation.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha also reviewed the situation in the rain and flood-hit areas and directed the administration to ensure immediate rescue, relief and assistance to affected families.
In the most devastating incident, eight members of a family were buried under debris after a cloudburst triggered a landslide that flattened their three-storey house on the bank of a stream at Lower Murrah in Surankote early Sunday.
The head of the family, Mohammad Latief, survived by a matter of minutes after he stepped out around 3.30 am to move his SUV to a safer place amid heavy rain. His elder son was also away in Jammu when the tragedy struck.
Minutes after Latief left the house, a torrent of mud, rocks and floodwater brought down the structure, burying his family members beneath the rubble.
Latief joined villagers and rescue personnel in searching for his family as teams worked through the day using shovels, ropes and other equipment.
Bodies, including those of 60-year-old Bano Bi and two-year-old SofianYasar, were recovered from the debris, while efforts continued to locate the remaining missing members.
In nearby Sangla village, four members of a family -- Abdul Hameed, his wife Sharifa Begum, daughter Areeba and sister Manira Begum -- were swept away along with their house by strong floodwaters. Bodies of two of them were subsequently recovered, while searches continued for the others.
Elsewhere in Poonch, 28-year-old NaziaKousar was killed when her house collapsed at Noonabandi village. Her husband Mohd Hafiz and their three children, aged between two and six years, were rescued with injuries and shifted to hospital.
Shahzaib Ahmad, 22, died in a house collapse at Sanglani-Surankote, while a minor girl, Iram, drowned in a stream at Marhote. An unidentified woman's body was recovered from a stream near DhundakLathoongbridge.
One person was killed and another critically injured after nearly half-a-dozen houses collapsed in Haveli tehsil, officials said.
In neighbouring Rajouri, a woman identified as Pinky was found dead in a river after overnight rains triggered flash floods and inundated low-lying areas, forcing hundreds of residents to move to safer locations. Another body was recovered from a river in Nowshera.
Dozens of vehicles were swept away or submerged as swollen rivers and streams breached their banks, while several houses, roads and other public and private properties suffered damage.
Teams of the Army, police, State Disaster Response Force and civil administration were engaged in rescue and relief operations at multiple locations, evacuating stranded residents and shifting vulnerable families to safer places.
In Jammu city, police and SDRF personnel rescued three persons stranded in the Tawiriver near Peer Kho Temple after a sudden rise in the water level. The three -- Randeep Singh, Munish Sharma and Vikas Kumar -- were brought safely to shore.
Authorities have advised people to stay away from rivers, streams and other water bodies as the weather department has forecast moderate to heavy rainfall across Jammu and Kashmir till July 23.
The inclement weather also forced authorities to temporarily suspend the AmarnathYatra from both the Pahalgam and Baltal routes. No onward movement of pilgrims was allowed from the base camps in Kashmir and Bhagwati Nagar YatriNiwas in Jammu.
The pilgrimages to Mata Vaishno Devi and Shiv Khori shrines in Reasi district were also suspended as a precautionary measure. Officials said the pilgrimages would resume after improvement in weather conditions and safety assessments.
The government also extended the summer vacation for government and recognised private schools in Kashmir division and the winter zones of Jammu division till July 22.
Abdullah said the administration's first priority was to safeguard lives and assured all possible assistance to people who suffered losses in the floods.
The National Conference's proposed statehood protest in New Delhi on Monday will, however, go ahead under the leadership of party president Farooq Abdullah, while the Chief Minister will remain in Jammu to oversee the situation.

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