Key facts
- Cloudbursts and landslides struck Pir Panjal mountains in Indian-administered Kashmir on July 19.
- At least 28 people have died across Jammu and Kashmir due to the events.
- The village of Murrah was devastated, with homes destroyed and infrastructure cut off.
- Rescue efforts are ongoing, with volunteers and soldiers searching for missing persons.
- Scientists attribute the extreme weather to rising temperatures, increasing the frequency of intense rainfall events.
- Pastoral communities, whose livelihoods depend on natural resources, are disproportionately affected.
Deadly cloudbursts and subsequent landslides have devastated remote mountain communities in Indian-administered Kashmir, killing at least 28 people and leaving many more missing. The events, which occurred before dawn on July 19 in the Pir Panjal mountains, unleashed torrents of mud, boulders, and water, destroying homes and infrastructure.
Haji Mohammad Latief, a resident of Murrah village, recounted how his family home, where five generations lived, was swallowed by the deluge, trapping eight family members. He survived only because he had stepped outside to move his car. Four days later, the village remained cut off, with electricity, roads, and mobile networks down, requiring a 90-minute trek through debris to access.
Rescue teams, soldiers, and local volunteers are combing through the rubble and the swollen Suran River for the missing. The destruction extends beyond Murrah, with reports of washed-away roads, submerged settlements, and collapsed houses in Rajouri and damage to crops and infrastructure in Gurez Valley.
Scientists attribute these extreme weather events to rising global temperatures, which are increasing the likelihood of short, intense rainfall events in the western Himalayas. This exacerbates existing geographical and social vulnerabilities for mountain communities, particularly pastoral groups like the Gujjars, whose livelihoods are directly tied to the environment. Experts from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (Icimod) highlight the dual challenge of managing both flood risk and water scarcity in the region, recommending improved early warning systems and infrastructure adaptation.
Sociologists studying Indigenous communities note that such disasters not only result in loss of life and property but also erode ancestral livelihoods and ecological knowledge. For survivors like Latief, the immediate hope is to find their missing family members for a collective burial.