Flash floods in Jammu & Kashmir's Ramban: Volunteers defied fear to reach out to victims

Village volunteers respond to flash floods and landslides in Ramban, Jammu & Kashmir, as Deputy Commissioner monitors rescue operations.

Amid frightening thunderstorm and cloudbursts, hundreds of village volunteers were the first respondents to reach out to the victims of flash floods and landslide that struck several villages in Jammu and Kashmir's Ramban district on Sunday (April 20, 25), leaving two minor brothers and an elderly man dead.

Dozens of houses and a stretch of Jammu-Srinagar National Highway near Panthiyal were damaged, while a number of villages were inaccessible, cutting off from the district headquarters.

Deputy Commissioner Baseer-ul-Haq Chaudhary is closely monitoring the ongoing operations in the affected areas, where educational institutions will remain closed on Monday (April 21, 2025.)

"I have never seen such a weather condition in my entire life. I was woken up by the deafening sound of the cloudburst at around 4.30 a.m. and within no time heard cries for help," Mohammad Hafiz, a Seri Bagna village resident, told PTI.

Seri Bagna village was hit by flash floods that claimed lives of three people — Aqib Ahmad (12), his brother Mohd Saqib (10) and their neighbour Muni Ram (65).

“We managed to pull out the two brothers after a portion of their house collapsed due to the flash floods but both of them had dead,” Mr. Hafiz said, adding that the volunteers defied their fear and continued the rescue operation despite heavy rains.

Former Sarpanch Teerath Singh said all the villagers continued their efforts and were hopeful of pulling out Muni Ram, who was alive and stuck under the debris. However, the elderly man could not be saved.