Jammu Tawi, July 12: The moderate to very heavy rains on Monday that most parts of Jammu region witnessed gave the residents much-needed relief from the hot and humid weather conditions but wreaked havoc in the plains of Jammu city.
The heavy downpour from last evening to Monday afternoon left a trail of miseries due to flash floods, water-logging in plains and landslides in hilly terrains of the Jammu region.
Rains lashed various parts of the Jammu region damaging roads and buildings in several areas that made life difficult for residents. Continuous rain left several areas waterlogged. Residential and commercial areas were submerged in knee-deep water, with blocked sewers aggravating the problem. Residents complained that cleaning of drains should have been done prior to the monsoon.
Incessant rains, the highest in a day at the beginning of this monsoon, plains of Jammu city were waterlogged and houses inundated. Streets and lanes submerged and flowed into the houses and shops after the drains and nallahs got choked in low-lying areas like Nanak Nagar, Bhagwati Nagar, Canal Road, Talab Tillo, Talab Tillo, Jewel Chowk, Rajinder Nagar, Qasim Nagar, Vinayak Bazar, Dogra Chowk, Gandhi Nagar, Sainik Colony, Green Belt, Digiana, Gadigarh and many other localities.
Municipal officials said arrangements were being made to drain out water. The power supply was also disrupted, causing inconvenience to residents.
Many houses in Kalka Colony in Bahu area collapsed, however, there was no report of any loss of life. The Police Control Room, Jammu, said that water entered many houses and government buildings while the walls of some complexes also collapsed due to rain. Police Post Gadigarh, in the outskirts, was inundated, while the boundary wall of City Police Station collapsed towards the roadside blocking the road causing inconvenience to the passersby. A Police spokesman said that no incident of injury or major damage has been reported so far.
The water level in the river Tawi has also registered a steep rise owing to continuous downpour in the upper reaches.
Meanwhile, Eleven people were rescued on Monday following flash floods in Kathua district of Jammu region where heavy rains disrupted normal life and inundated several areas, officials said.
They were stuck in flash floods in Ujh river in the Rajbagh area and were rescued by police and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel, they said.
Several farm animals were, however, washed away, the officials said.
The district administration in Kathua and Samba sounded a flood alert.
Jammu City recorded the highest ever rainfall of 150.6 mm in the last 24 hours since 1989 for the month of July.
Heavy downpours were witnessed in other parts of Jammu region. Katra and Samba received a whopping 76.6 mm and 119.0 mm rainfall in the last 24 hours till 0830 hours.
Kathua, Batote, Bhaderwah and Banihal recorded 24.8 mm, 25.4 mm, 10.4 mm and 6.4 mm rainfall respectively.
Kastigarh area of Doda a vehicle got trapped after a mudslide hit it, however, no loss of life injury was reported in the incident.
Locals staged protests alleging that due to overflow of drains especially in monsoon season, the road gets blocked but the administration is not taking any notice of this grievance despite repeated reminders.
The weatherman has said that as expected, very heavy showers occurred at many places of Jammu plains whereas moderate showers were reported at many places of Kashmir and Hilly areas of Jammu and continuously raining.
“Weather will remain overcast to Cloudy at most places of J&K,” he said.
He said that the shower may generate Flash Flood and Landslide in Hilly Area which may led to blockage of Road. The waterlogged Jammu-Pathankot national highway also remained shut at Samba.
The Jammu-Srinagar national highway was closed due to several landslides triggered by heavy rains in Ramban district, and men and machines were deployed to clear the highway, the officials said, adding that one-way traffic was briefly restored.
Traffic movement was disrupted on the Pathankot-Jammu highway due to heavy flooding, they said, adding that a truck overturned on the carriageway near Kathua.
The Ujh, Basantar and the Eik nallahs were in spate in Kathua and Samba, triggering fear in the population living near these water bodies, the officials said.
Areas around the check dam Dhalote in Samba are inundated, they said, adding that locals have appealed to the authorities to open the flood gates of the dam.
The heavy downpour led to a rise in water levels in major rivers in Jammu, including the Tawi, while a small bridge collapsed in Gadigarh.
The mercury in most parts of Jammu and Kashmir nose-dived during the day due to the torrential rains, with Jammu recording a high of 24.8 degrees Celsius, 3.3 notches below normal, a weather official said, adding that rainfall was recorded at 150 mm.
News Agency KNO reported from Srinagar that a cloudburst hit Watlar area of Lar in Kashmir’s Ganderbal district in the wee hours on Monday, triggering flash floods, which caused partial damage to several residential houses and many inner roads in the area.
Flash floods triggered by a cloudburst lashed several residential houses and roads in Watlar village, causing significant damage.
