J-K flood situation worsens, death toll mounts to 107

Omar Abdullah said there are almost 100 casualties due to the floods

Torrential monsoon rains which triggered flooding, landslides and house collapses in Jammu and Kashmir have so far caused 107 deaths as the situation worsened today and rescuers struggled to evacuate tens of thousands of people to safety with major rivers in spate.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh rushed to Srinagar and Jammu to take stock of the situation in the wake of the heaviest rains and flooding in the state in six decades but could not make an aerial survey due to inclement weather.

Thousands of people were forced to leave their houses and take shelter at safer places as the flood fury continued across Kashmir Valley with no let up in the rains for the fifth day today, officials said. Congress demanded that the Centre declare the flood situation as a national calamity.

"107 people have died in Jammu and Kashmir due to flash-floods, landslides and house collapses," Singh told reporters in Jammu.

The Home Minister, who was accompanied by Minister of State in PMO Jitendra Singh, was driven around waterlogged roads in Srinagar by Omar for a first hand assessment of the situation as the city continued to experience heavy rains.

"The floods have caused a lot of damage," he said, and asked, "If this is the condition of city, what will be the situation in rural areas?"

Singh said as many as 2,500 villages have been affected while 450 villages were marooned and that a large number of houses were destroyed and road and bridges damaged.

Omar said there are almost 100 casualties due to the floods. "We are only counting confirmed deaths, where bodies have been recovered," he said, adding that 390 villages out of 3,000 villages in Kashmir division are completely inundated.

In Jammu Division, of the 3,325 villages, 110 were partially or fully affected, he added. 11 more deaths were reported in this Division today, officials said.

"We haven't seen such a situation before," Omar said.

At least nine Army personnel including an officer were trapped in strong water current as their boat capsized during a rescue operation in Pulwama district, where River Jhelum has breached embankment prompting authorities to issue a red alert for people living in low lying areas of south Srinagar. Two choppers were pressed into service to rescue the personnel.

Several rivers have been flowing above the danger mark and most parts of south Kashmir, including Pulwama, Anantnag and Kulgam districts have been submerged.

As many as 9.000 people were rescued in various areas in Jammu by teams of Army and IAF teams till now with 100 columns (75-100 personnel each) of troops and Air Force helicopters taking part in the operations.

Yatra to Mata Vaishnodevi cave shrine was suspended for the third consecutive day. The 300-km-long Jammu-Srinagar National Highway also remained closed for vehicular traffic.