Srinagar: Torrential rains lashed parts of the valley leading to flooding in low -lying areas. On Monday, the government of Jammu and Kashmir declared a flood situation in parts of the Kashmir valley as the water level rose above the danger mark in the river Jhelum in Srinagar and Sangam areas after heavy rainfalls.
People living near the banks of the Jehlum and in low-lying areas of the valley were asked to shift to safer places by the state administration. The government also issued an avalanche warning on Monday for the next 24 hours. The flood alert was sounded at 5.30 am on Monday.
At least 100 personnel of the National Disaster Response Force have been rushed to Srinagar. “Communication lines are intact and we are prepared,” said OP Singh, who heads the disaster management force.
Around 237 families were evacuated by the police to safer regions on Sunday in the face of flood scare but the authorities have asked people not to panic.
“The embankments which were made post 2014 floods are so far safe,” Altaf Bhukari, minister of public works is quoted to have said by the Hindustan Times. “Except for a few areas water has not seeped into residential areas. However there is water logging and we are trying to pump the water out.”
“Weather will improve and there will be less rainfall in the next 24 to 48 hours,” said Sonam Lotus, Director Meteorological department in Srinagar.
While the water level in south Kashmir’s Sangam gauge went down through the day from 22.30 feet at 11 a.m. to 21 feet at 5 p.m. because of the let-up in the rain, the water levels rose in Srinagar from 19.50 feet to 19.70 feet during the same period. “It takes the water several hours to travel from south Kashmir to Srinagar and around evening we will see the water level come down as well,” Mr. Jaffer said.
Around 6.30 p.m., it began raining again in several areas of south Kashmir.
“We are doing everything to save the city. The administration is out on the field and we have decided to follow the directions of the flood manual to the end,” Cabinet Minister Altaf Bukhari said.
Mr. Bukhari said if the situation did not improve and if it rained again posing a threat to the Valley, the government would breach the Kandizaal embankment to divert the flood waters to one side of the city. The breach would affect Padshahi Bagh, Mehjoor Nagar, Naik Bagh, Natipora, Budshah Nagar and several other areas but the rest of the city would be unaffected, he added.
Here are a few pictures of the current floods from the social media:
