J&K cloudbursts: 4 killed in Kathua flash floods after cloudburst, family buried in landslide | Latest News India

A family was also feared buried under debris after a landslide hit a place called Juthana Jod near Ghati in the early hours of Sunday. It was around the same time that suspected cloudbursts struck Ghati, a remote village in Rajbagh area of the district, and two other locations nearby, snapping access to the village.

“The incidents occured between 3.30 and 4 am,” said inspector Ajay Singh from the the police station of Rajbagh area, “Advance parties have reached the area.”

A joint team of the police and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) has reached Ghati to join the locals in rescue efforts. Bodies of four persons were recovered while six were rescued in an injured condition, officials told PTI.

Waterlogging at police station

Heavy rain led to sharp increase in the levels in Sahar Khad and Ujh rivers, officials told HT.

Railways tracks were damaged and traffic on the main roads, including the national highway in the area, was also affected. The police station at Kathua also saw major waterlogging.

Union minister Jitendra Singh also posted details on X, and wrote: “The civilian Administration, Military and Paramilitary has swung into action. The situation being continuously monitored.”

Landslides hit Bagard and Changda villages, too, under the jurisdiction of Kathua police station and Dilwan-Hutli in Lakhanpur police station area but there was no major report of damage, the news agency reported.

Earlier, at least 60 people, most of them pilgrims, were killed in flash floods on the Machail Mata Yatra route at Chasoti village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district on Thursday afternoon.