RAMBAN: A devastating cloudburst triggered a flash flood in the Seri Bagna area of Ramban district early Sunday morning, leaving two persons dead, one missing, and over 90 others rescued in a large-scale emergency operation led by police and disaster response teams.
The sudden cloudburst occurred around dawn near the Chenab Bridge in the Dharamkund area, sending a surge of water down a local nallah that quickly turned into a torrent, sweeping through the village and destroying dozens of homes. Officials said the water level rose sharply within minutes, catching many residents off guard in their sleep.
Reports from the area suggest that a cloud burst was reported from Bhagna in upper Ramban, in which two brothers have died. They were identified as Aaqib Ahmed (14), Saqib Ahmed (12), sons of Mohammad Hanief. The village was devastated by the cloudburst.
“Around 90 to 100 people were trapped by the floodwaters but have since been safely rescued. Tragically, two bodies have been recovered and one person is still unaccounted for,” a senior official told reporters. “At least ten houses were destroyed, and another 25 to 30 structures have sustained partial damage. The full extent of the damage is being assessed.”
As panic gripped the area, the Dharamkund police station launched an immediate rescue mission with both personnel and machinery. Despite the continuous downpour and difficult terrain, the rescue teams managed to evacuate most of the affected residents by mid-morning.
Eyewitnesses described scenes of chaos as muddy waters surged through fields and homes, sweeping away vehicles, livestock, and household belongings. “It was like the whole mountain came alive. We only had minutes to run,” said Ghulam Nabi, a local resident whose home was destroyed in the flood.
Heavy rain overnight had already weakened soil structures in the area. In the hours following the cloudburst, fresh landslides and mudslides were reported at nearly a dozen locations between Nashri and Banihal on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, forcing the complete suspension of vehicular traffic on the arterial route.
A traffic department spokesperson confirmed that the highway had been closed in both directions. “There are landslides, mudslides, and shooting stones at multiple points. We urge commuters not to travel until clearance operations are completed and weather conditions improve,” the spokesperson said.
The continuous spell of violent weather over the past few days has battered Ramban district, causing widespread damage to infrastructure and private property. Several bridges and culverts in the region have been damaged, and many remote villages remain cut off due to blocked roads and snapped communication lines.
Local authorities have begun distributing emergency relief supplies and providing temporary shelter for displaced families. District officials said a high-level assessment team has been deployed to coordinate rehabilitation and compensation efforts.
Meanwhile, meteorological officials have forecast continued rainfall in parts of Jammu and Kashmir over the next 48 hours, raising concerns of further flooding and landslides in already affected regions.
This incident marks the second fatal cloudburst in Jammu and Kashmir this month, underlining the increasing vulnerability of mountainous areas to extreme weather events, possibly linked to broader patterns of climate change.
Rescue teams, including personnel from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), police, and local volunteers, continue to comb through debris in search of the missing person. Authorities said the search and relief operations will continue until all affected residents are accounted for.
Meanwhile, the situation in the Bowli Nallah area has turned increasingly critical, with reports of a massive mudslide and flooding that have severely damaged at least a dozen shops. Residents described a “dangerous and fast-changing” situation as water levels rose swiftly, inundating the marketplace and nearby residential areas. Eyewitness accounts and videos uploaded by activists and citizen journalists on social media depict harrowing scenes—homes collapsing into the floodwaters, people being pulled to safety in life-threatening conditions, and long lines of stranded vehicles stretching along the battered highway. In several clips, residents can be seen crying and pleading for help amid the chaos.
There are also preliminary and unconfirmed reports of damage from the Gool belt of Ramban district, where weather conditions remain volatile. Authorities have said that a detailed assessment is still awaited. In the face of this disaster, Union Minister and Member of Parliament Dr Jitendra Singh expressed sorrow over the loss of lives, terming the incident “unfortunate.” He has said the region had witnessed severe hailstorms, landslides, and high-velocity winds throughout the night. He confirmed that the National Highway remains blocked and lauded the swift response by the district administration, led by Deputy Commissioner Baseer-ul-Haq Chaudhary. Singh further assured that all possible assistance, both government and personal, would be extended to the affected families and urged the public to remain calm.
