Heavy rains across the Himalayan mountains killed at least 36 people in India within 24 hours, including 33 in a landslide on the pilgrim route to the Vaishno Devi shrine in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. At least three more fatalities were reported in the Dodi district. Authorities opened major dams to drain rainwater, prompting downstream flood alerts for three rivers in neighboring Pakistan. Schools were closed, train services halted for about a day, highways became impassable, and the River Tawi burst its banks in places. Telecommunications services were severely disrupted, with officials working to restore electricity, water supply and mobile connectivity as rain intensity decreased but continued to fall in worst-hit areas.
Heavy rains across the Himalayan mountains have killed at least 36 people in the last 24 hours in India, 33 of them in one landslide near the Hindu shrine of Vaishno Devi on a pilgrim route in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. "The loss of lives due to a landslide on the route to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Temple is saddening. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. May the injured recover at the earliest," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in response.
Omar Abdullah, the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, said officials were battling to restore "almost non-existent" telecommunications services in the area to facilitate rescue efforts and communication. Jitendra Singh, India's science and technology minister, said on social media that the "immediate priority is restoration of electricity, water supply and mobile services, for which the authorities have been working continuously overnight." Singh also said that while rain continued to fall in the worst-hit areas, its intensity had decreased.
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