Monsoon floods: Thousands trapped in Indian Kashmir

Rain-swollen Jhelum River inundates Srinagar, forces frantic residents onto rooftops

SRINAGAR:

Soldiers were battling on Sunday to rescue thousands trapped by Indian Kashmir’s worst flooding for half a century which has killed at least 150 people and left Srinagar under water.

Some 350 villages have also been submerged since torrential monsoon rains triggered flooding and landslides across Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.



The rain-swollen Jhelum River flooded large parts of Srinagar on Sunday and forced frantic residents onto rooftops, with reports the first floors of a children’s hospital and of another hospital were underwater.

Thousands of troops, police and other emergency personnel, backed by helicopters and boats, have been deployed across the state to reach those stranded, with at least 14,800 people rescued.

“Thousands of people are still stranded and we have rescued several thousands,” police Inspector General of Jammu region, Rajesh Kumar, told AFP.

“More than 150 bodies have (also) been recovered so far. The exact number is hard to assess as we are still searching for bodies.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi toured the region and met top relief officials, describing the situation as ‘a national-level disaster’.

In Indian Kashmir, photos showed residents wading through neck-deep waters clutching their belongings, stranded on rooftops or crammed into army boats with blankets, while others showed bridges and roads destroyed.

The state’s chief minister, Omar Abdullah, said the floods were ‘unprecedented’ but urged residents not to panic, saying rescuers would eventually reach them.

A police official in Srinagar said he feared the true extent of the devastation was not yet known because phone networks were down and areas cut off.

“We are in a catastrophic situation,” he said, adding that Srinagar’s police headquarters was under water. “Many people may have died and houses collapsed but we are not getting to know much (information).”

In Srinagar, an army headquarters was also under water along with some government buildings.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 8^th, 2014.