<p>Srinagar: Just days after a massive cloudburst devastated a remote village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district, claiming 65 lives, another tragedy struck on Sunday in Kathua district, where at least seven people, including four children, two women, and a teenager were killed and six others injured after flash floods triggered by a cloudburst hit Jod Ghati village in Rajbagh.</p><p>The cloudburst occurred during the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday, unleashing torrents of water and mud that swept through farmland and homes, snapping road links and trapping villagers, officials said. Panic spread as residents, caught off guard, rushed to higher ground.</p><p>A joint team of police and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) reached the remote site in the early hours, braving washed-out tracks to retrieve bodies and rescue the injured. Local volunteers joined the efforts, carrying victims to safety, they added.</p>.J&K Assembly's Committee on environment demands urgent inquiry into Kishtwar cloudburst. <p>Divisional Commissioner Ramesh Kumar said, “There was heavy rainfall in Kathua since last night, because of which flash floods occurred. Seven people have died due to the landslide. The SDRF, Army, J&K Police, and civil administration are conducting rescue operations… Those who died due to the landslide, their bodies have been retrieved.”</p><p>Union Minister Jitendra Singh confirmed that civilian administration, military, and paramilitary forces had been deployed to carry out rescue and relief in Kathua. Meanwhile, railway authorities suspended services between Udhampur and Pathankot on Sunday owing to heavy rainfall and flood conditions, further disrupting movement in the region.</p><p>While Kathua reeled under the fresh disaster, rescue operations entered the fourth day in Kishtwar’s Chosoti village, where a cloudburst on Thursday had left nearly 65 people dead and more than 100 injured. Hundreds of NDRF, SDRF, police and Army personnel remained engaged in round-the-clock operations, using heavy machinery to clear boulders and debris. </p><p>Helicopters were also deployed to ferry the critically injured from cut-off hamlets. Officials said several bodies were still feared trapped under mudslides, while the injured were shifted to district hospitals in Kishtwar and Jammu.</p><p>“The terrain is extremely challenging and the weather is unpredictable, but our teams are continuing nonstop to ensure no one is left behind,” a senior SDRF officer said.</p><p>The back-to-back cloudbursts have triggered alarm in Jammu and Kashmir, where scientists warn of a <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/india/jammu-and-kashmir/jammu-and-kashmir-witnessing-climate-change-experts-3682706#:~:text=The%20axis%20of%20the%20Monsoon,increase%20due%20to%20global%20warming.">rising trend of extreme weather events</a> in the fragile Himalayan belt. Experts link the pattern to climate change, glacial retreat, and erratic rainfall. The deadly Leh cloudburst of 2010, which killed over 200 people, remains a grim reminder of the region’s vulnerability.</p>
<p>Srinagar: Just days after a massive cloudburst devastated a remote village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district, claiming 65 lives, another tragedy struck on Sunday in Kathua district, where at least seven people, including four children, two women, and a teenager were killed and six others injured after flash floods triggered by a cloudburst hit Jod Ghati village in Rajbagh.</p><p>The cloudburst occurred during the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday, unleashing torrents of water and mud that swept through farmland and homes, snapping road links and trapping villagers, officials said. Panic spread as residents, caught off guard, rushed to higher ground.</p><p>A joint team of police and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) reached the remote site in the early hours, braving washed-out tracks to retrieve bodies and rescue the injured. Local volunteers joined the efforts, carrying victims to safety, they added.</p>.J&K Assembly's Committee on environment demands urgent inquiry into Kishtwar cloudburst. <p>Divisional Commissioner Ramesh Kumar said, “There was heavy rainfall in Kathua since last night, because of which flash floods occurred. Seven people have died due to the landslide. The SDRF, Army, J&K Police, and civil administration are conducting rescue operations… Those who died due to the landslide, their bodies have been retrieved.”</p><p>Union Minister Jitendra Singh confirmed that civilian administration, military, and paramilitary forces had been deployed to carry out rescue and relief in Kathua. Meanwhile, railway authorities suspended services between Udhampur and Pathankot on Sunday owing to heavy rainfall and flood conditions, further disrupting movement in the region.</p><p>While Kathua reeled under the fresh disaster, rescue operations entered the fourth day in Kishtwar’s Chosoti village, where a cloudburst on Thursday had left nearly 65 people dead and more than 100 injured. Hundreds of NDRF, SDRF, police and Army personnel remained engaged in round-the-clock operations, using heavy machinery to clear boulders and debris. </p><p>Helicopters were also deployed to ferry the critically injured from cut-off hamlets. Officials said several bodies were still feared trapped under mudslides, while the injured were shifted to district hospitals in Kishtwar and Jammu.</p><p>“The terrain is extremely challenging and the weather is unpredictable, but our teams are continuing nonstop to ensure no one is left behind,” a senior SDRF officer said.</p><p>The back-to-back cloudbursts have triggered alarm in Jammu and Kashmir, where scientists warn of a <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/india/jammu-and-kashmir/jammu-and-kashmir-witnessing-climate-change-experts-3682706#:~:text=The%20axis%20of%20the%20Monsoon,increase%20due%20to%20global%20warming.">rising trend of extreme weather events</a> in the fragile Himalayan belt. Experts link the pattern to climate change, glacial retreat, and erratic rainfall. The deadly Leh cloudburst of 2010, which killed over 200 people, remains a grim reminder of the region’s vulnerability.</p>