Flash floods in Jammu kill three people, damage nearly dozen houses and wash away cattle; officials issue advisory

Jammu: Three persons, including a woman, were killed and nearly a dozen houses were damaged in rain-related incidents in different districts of the Jammu region, officials said on Saturday. [caption id=“attachment_4637621” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] A view of a flooded residential colony after incessant rains on Saturday, June 30, 2018.[/caption] Harbans Lal (45) was washed away by flash floods in a stream near his house at Natulphal village of Khour in the Akhnoor sector on Saturday afternoon, they said. The officials said Lal was crossing the stream when a sudden surge in the water level due to incessant rains caught him. The body of the deceased was recovered and handed over to his family, they said. A woman, identified as Jameela, was killed when a tree got uprooted due to heavy rains and fell on her temporary shelter at Kalamsatherdhar village of Kishtwar district, officials said. Jameela’s daughter was also injured in the incident and was shifted to a hospital, they said. A 22-year-old man, Anzar Ahmad, was also washed away by flash floods in a stream at the Surankote area of Poonch district on Friday and his body was recovered, the officials said. Nearly a dozen ‘kacha’ houses were also damaged, while 28 cattle were perished in the heavy rains in different districts, especially in the areas in the Chenab Valley over the past three days. Several footbridges, including two in Udhampur district, were also washed away by the strong currents as most of the water bodies across the region are flooded. Six men, who got trapped in the middle of the Tawi river near Pukroo on Friday night due to sudden rise in the water, were rescued, the officials said. Some machines, including a dumber, were damaged at the site of the 48-MW hydel project at Kalnai, a tributary of the Chenab river in Doda district, besides an ordinary bund meant to divert river water was damaged in the flash floods. The revenue teams are accessing the damage caused due to the flood like situation, the officials said. Monsoon rains hit the region on Wednesday and was continuing intermittently since then. However, the hilly areas of the Jammu regions, including Ramban, Doda, Kishtwar, Poonch, Rajouri and Reasi districts, experienced heavy rains over the past two days.