July 23, 2025 1:54 PM.
In Jammu & Kashmir, two persons were killed due to a landslide in the district of Reasi following incessant rains and bad weather conditions in the Jammu division. The Srinagar-Jammu National Highway has been temporarily closed for traffic movement due to bad weather conditions at different places along the highway. Official sources said that one of the two persons killed is a resident of the Mantalai area in Udhampur district in the Jammu division.
They said five other persons have been injured in the incident. Senior Superintendent of Police, Traffic Raja Aadil, manning National Highway, told Akashvani News Srinagar that the traffic movement on the National Highway has been suspended today following flash floods and a mudslide near the Magerkote area of Ramban district.
He said due to incessant rains, mudslides, landslides and falling of shooting stones at various places along the highway, the traffic police authorities stopped the movement of vehicles on both sides of the highway.
The officials said the highway has been rendered unsafe for traffic due to the accumulation of debris and water, blocking this vital road connection. The restoration work is underway, and commuters have been advised to avoid travelling on the route until further clearance is issued by the concerned authorities.
DIG Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban Range in a social media post has advised all travellers to exercise caution while planning their journey. The Police have announced a helpline, 112, in case of any emergency or assistance.
Director Meteorological Department Srinagar, Dr Mukhtar Ahma,d predicted light to moderate rain or thunder at many places with intense showers and heavy to very heavy rain at isolated to scattered places of Poonch, Rajouri, Ramban, Reasi, Udhampur, Jammu and Kathua in Jammu division, till tomorrow. He added that a few places of the Kashmir division may also receive moderate and intense showers.
Heavy rains pounded parts of Jammu and Kashmir along the Line of Control (LoC), unleashing flash floods and landslides that damaged infrastructure and killed a schoolchild, officials told Anadolu on Tuesday.
The hilly districts of Rajouri and Poonch saw rivers and streams swell, inundating low-lying areas, washing away vehicles, and damaging buildings.
Vikas Kundal, a senior official in Poonch, said a landslide struck a school, killing one child and injuring at least 23 others.
“We are taking every possible measure to safeguard lives and have advised people from low-lying areas to move to safe places in view of the risk of flash floods,” Kundal told Anadolu. “We have deployed teams of emergency and relief, including medical teams, to reach affected areas.”
In neighboring Rajouri, authorities ordered schools closed after rising water levels in the Dharhali and Saktoh rivers posed further danger.
A red alert has been issued in 12 districts — Kathua, Samba, Udhampur, Doda, Kishtwar, Ramban, Reasi, Jammu, Rajouri, Poonch, Baramulla, and Anantnag — due to expected heavy rainfall and heightened risk of flash floods, officials said. The Indian Meteorological Department in Srinagar had already issued an alert for July 21–24 warning of heavy rain with risks of flooding and landslides.
The region has increasingly seen erratic weather patterns in recent years, with intense heat waves and untimely showers amplifying climate-related disasters. Ajaz Rasool, an environmental expert, told Anadolu that Kashmir “is no exception” to the global impacts of climate change.
“It is due to various stress factors including the unnecessary human activity on ecologically fragile zones which definitely has an adverse effect,” Rasool said.
“Now it is to time to act strategically to save our environment rather than waiting for disasters to happen,” Rasool cautioned. This year also recorded the hottest June in the region since 1978.