At least 25 people have been killed as floods and landslides hit across north and northeastern India, local officials reported on Monday, following days of torrential monsoon rain.
In Indian-administered Kashmir, rain-related incidents in the Poonch, Rajouri and Doda districts killed at least 15 people, with several others missing, a senior police official said. In the northeastern state of Nagaland, multiple landslides triggered by persistent rains killed nine people.
“We have recovered four of the eight bodies, and rescue work is ongoing,” Wennyei Konyak, the magistrate of Nagaland’s Mon district, told AFP, adding that at least 15 others had been injured.
In Jammu, a flash flood in Rajouri caused extensive damage to public and private property and disrupted countless lives, according to a statement from the office of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. Army personnel and state emergency responders rescued 11 people, including five children.
In the neighboring state of Assam, one person died in flooding on Sunday, according to the state disaster management body, which said more than 57,000 people across seven districts had been affected.
India’s weather office warned of the potential for more extremely heavy rainfall in Jammu and Kashmir over the coming days, with active monsoon conditions likely to persist across the region for up to a week.
Authorities also announced the temporary suspension of the annual Amarnath pilgrimage, which drew more than 400,000 Hindus last year, and the Vaishno Devi pilgrimage in Jammu, citing the safety of devotees until routes are declared safe.
Source: www.aljazeera.com