{"id":61081,"date":"2025-05-03T05:05:59","date_gmt":"2025-05-03T05:05:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/?p=61081"},"modified":"2025-05-03T05:05:59","modified_gmt":"2025-05-03T05:05:59","slug":"heavy-rain-landslides-block-jammu-srinagar-highway-lightning-claims-life-in-kashmir","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/03\/heavy-rain-landslides-block-jammu-srinagar-highway-lightning-claims-life-in-kashmir\/","title":{"rendered":"Heavy Rain, Landslides Block Jammu-Srinagar Highway; Lightning Claims Life in Kashmir"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway<\/strong> remained closed for over seven hours<\/strong> today after heavy rain triggered landslides and mudslides<\/strong> in the Ramban<\/strong> area, leaving hundreds of vehicles stranded. Meanwhile, one person was killed by lightning<\/strong> in Kashmir amid the severe weather conditions.<\/p>\n

Officials reported that flash floods in the Chenab river<\/strong> forced authorities in Reasi and Akhnoor<\/strong> to issue warnings, advising the public to avoid venturing near the riverbanks. The rainfall since last evening also brought a noticeable drop in temperature<\/strong> across the Jammu region.<\/p>\n

Due to poor weather and cloud cover<\/strong>, helicopter services to Mata Vaishno Devi<\/strong> shrine from Katra base camp<\/strong> were suspended for much of the day. However, battery cars, cable cars to Bhairon Mandir, and the on-foot pilgrimage continued without disruption<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Vehicular traffic came to a halt from both directions on the Jammu-Srinagar Highway after mudslides at Chamba Seri in Ramban<\/strong>. One lane of the four-lane highway was already blocked<\/strong>, and today\u2019s additional landslides rendered the entire stretch impassable, affecting nearly 100 meters<\/strong> of roadway.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease check the status of the road before starting your journey,<\/strong>\u201d a Traffic Police officer advised travelers.<\/p>\n

Authorities confirmed that a cloudburst in Chamba Seri<\/strong> triggered the flash floods and mudslides. A landslide around 2:15 pm<\/strong> further blocked the route, though no casualties or injuries were reported. Three to four heavy machines<\/strong> were deployed to clear the debris, and NHAI Project Director, Ramban Sector, PK Phonsa<\/strong>, assured that the highway would be cleared by night.<\/p>\n

After intensive efforts, the highway was cleared around 9 pm<\/strong>, allowing over 1,200 stranded vehicles<\/strong> to proceed. Light motor vehicles (LMVs)<\/strong> were first allowed from Jammu, followed by traffic from Kashmir, and finally heavy motor vehicles (HMVs)<\/strong> were cleared.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s incident followed severe weather on April 20<\/strong>, when heavy rain and a cloudburst caused landslides in Ramban<\/strong>, killing three people<\/strong> and damaging numerous houses, shops, and roads. Vehicles buried under debris from that incident are still being recovered.<\/p>\n

In addition to highway disruptions, rising water levels in the Chenab river<\/strong> created panic among communities living along its banks. Authorities issued alerts, urging residents to stay away from the river. On Friday<\/strong>, the release of water from the Salal Project<\/strong> led to a rapid rise in the river\u2019s level, prompting warnings across Reasi, Akhnoor, Jourian, Pargwal, and Khour<\/strong>. By evening, the water level at Akhnoor<\/strong> measured 27 feet<\/strong>, approaching the 30-foot alert mark<\/strong> and nearing the 33-foot danger level<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In Kulgam district<\/strong>, a 37-year-old auto driver, Tariq Ahmad Padder of Gansorgam<\/strong>, was killed after being struck by lightning<\/strong> in his village. He was rushed to District Hospital Kulgam<\/strong> but was declared dead on arrival.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, gusty winds and moderate rainfall<\/strong> wreaked havoc in several areas, including a reported uprooted tree near SKICC<\/strong>, causing heavy traffic jams.<\/p>\n

Tragedy also struck Dal Lake<\/strong>, where two boats capsized amid strong winds<\/strong>. A Quick Response Team (QRT) of SDRF<\/strong> and Fire & Emergency Department<\/strong> rescued four people<\/strong>, but one person\u2014Tawfeeq Ahmad Chopan, son of Nikka, a resident of Jogi Lanker Rainawari\u2014remains missing<\/strong>. Rescue operations were suspended at night due to darkness<\/strong> and will resume at first light tomorrow<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The severe weather also affected air travel, with two flights diverted<\/strong> due to windstorms. IndiGo flights 6E896\/2305 (Delhi-Srinagar-Delhi)<\/strong> and 6E214 (Mumbai-Srinagar-IXJ)<\/strong> were rerouted to Chandigarh and Delhi<\/strong> after failing to land at Srinagar International Airport<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

According to Director MeT Dr. Mukhtar Ahmad<\/strong>, several central and southern parts of Kashmir received rain this afternoon, and brief showers with thunder and gusty winds<\/strong> are expected at isolated to scattered locations until May 5<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway remained closed for over seven hours today after heavy rain triggered landslides and mudslides in the Ramban area, leaving hundreds of vehicles…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":61082,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61081","post","has-post-thumbnail","category-jammu","category-kashmir"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61081"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61081\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61083,"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61081\/revisions\/61083"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}