SRINAGAR: A powerful windstorm accompanied by heavy rains and thunderstorms swept through various parts of the Jammu region late last night, leaving a trail of destruction, claiming two lives and injuring several others. The storm uprooted trees, blew away rooftops, collapsed structures, and caused extensive property damage in multiple districts, including Udhampur, Kathua, Reasi, Rajouri, and Jammu, reports appearing in Jammu-based newspaper Daily Excelsior revealed.
In a tragic incident in Tikri area of Udhampur, a member of a marriage party lost his life while two others were injured after a tree was uprooted and fell on their vehicle. Official sources said the three youths were accompanying a marriage party at Bansa Morh when they stopped under a mango tree amidst heavy rains and high-velocity winds. The tree suddenly collapsed onto their vehicle, critically injuring them.
Locals rushed the injured to Narayana Hospital in Katra, where one of them, Abhishek Thakur, 30, son of Angrej Singh and a resident of Bagta in Reasi’s Katra tehsil, succumbed to his injuries. The other two — Shubham Thakur, 28, also son of Angrej Singh from Bhagta, Katra, and Nitish Bazal, 25, son of Sawarn Singh from Mehari, Katra — are undergoing treatment at the same hospital.
In a separate incident in Kathua, a non-local labourer died after his tin hut collapsed during the storm. The labourer was trapped under the debris of a wall and died on the spot. Several tin huts in the locality were also damaged, exposing the vulnerability of migrant workers to extreme weather conditions.
The fury of the storm was also felt in Ramnagar, where the house of one Bagmal in the village Kidmu suffered extensive damage after its tin roof was blown away. The household goods were destroyed. In another incident in Ward 13 of Ramnagar town, a tree fell on the house of Roshan Lal while the family was inside. They escaped unhurt, though the house suffered damage.
In the village of Seen Barmana Udhampur, the roof of Sohan Lal’s house, built under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, was ripped off, and all the goods inside were damaged.
The high-velocity winds also sparked a fire in the Sandroon area of Bani in Kathua, where three houses were gutted. The blaze caused huge losses, and residents have appealed for government assistance.
A major infrastructural setback occurred in Nowshera, where an under-construction 132-metre-long motorable bridge connecting Siri and Shahrukh blocks was partially damaged by the storm. The bridge, being built for Rs 5.92 crores under the supervision of the Public Works Department, has now come under scrutiny. Senior PWD officials visited the site today and ordered an inquiry into the collapse.
Across the districts of Udhampur, Reasi, Samba, Jammu, and Kathua, scores of houses with tin roofs were damaged, and residents suffered heavy losses. In Akhnoor alone, about a dozen homes were affected.
A spokesman from the Meteorological Department attributed the extreme weather to active Western Disturbances, warning that similar conditions — including gusty winds of 50 to 70 kmph, hailstorms, and heavy rain — are likely to persist on April 18, 19 and 20. Light snowfall is also expected in the higher reaches of Jammu and Kashmir.
The affected families have urged the administration to provide immediate relief and compensation for the damages.
