India floods and landslides kill at least 19
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The India Meteorological Department warned on July 19 of the potential for “extremely heavy rainfall” in Jammu and Kashmir over the next two days.
PHOTO: EPA
- Flash floods and landslides in Nagaland and Jammu and Kashmir killed at least 19 people and injured 15, with ongoing rescue efforts underway.
- Jammu and Kashmir suffered extensive damage, prompting suspension of the annual Hindu Amarnath and Vaishno Devi pilgrimages for safety reasons.
- The India Meteorological Department warned of further heavy rainfall, highlighting the recurring risk of floods during the monsoon season in India.
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SRINAGAR, India - Flash floods and landslides caused by monsoon rains killed at least 19 people in India on July 19, officials and local media said, as authorities mounted rescue operations in affected regions.
Eight people were killed in the north-eastern state of Nagaland, next to Myanmar, while 11 others died in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir.
“We have recovered four of the eight bodies, and rescue work is ongoing,” Wennyei Konyak, district magistrate of Nagaland’s Mon district, told AFP.
At least 15 others were injured, he said.
Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah “expressed profound anguish over the massive flash flood in Rajouri” in the Jammu region of the territory, his office said in a statement.
The flood “has caused extensive damage to public and private property, including the bus stand, and disrupted countless lives,” his office added.
Indian broadcaster NDTV said at least 11 people died and “several others went missing” in Jammu.
Army personnel and state emergency responders rescued 11 people, including five children, in Jammu’s Rajouri district, the army said.
The India Meteorological Department warned on July 19 of the potential for “extremely heavy rainfall” in Jammu and Kashmir over the next two days.
Officials also announced the “temporary suspension” of annual Hindu Amarnath pilgrimage in the Kashmir region.
The pilgrimage was suspended “in the interest of the safety and well-being of all” pilgrims, the local government said in a statement on July 19.
It “will resume only after weather conditions improve and the routes are declared safe,” it added.
More than 400,000 Hindus took part in a month-long pilgrimage in the region in 2025.
Officials also suspended the Hindu pilgrimage to the Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu, which receives millions of people each year.
Floods and related accidents are an annual occurrence across India during the monsoon months, which follow the region’s long summers, with many parts of the country facing severe water scarcity and drought-like situations. AFP
