Kashmir Impulse Desk

Rajouri, July 26

A spell of relatively fair weather brought relief to flood-hit areas of Jammu and Kashmir’s Pir Panjal region on Sunday, allowing restoration work and movement to resume in Rajouri and Poonch districts, while rescue teams continued searching for seven people still missing after recent flash floods.

The improvement followed incessant rainfall on Saturday that had disrupted normal life across the twin districts and complicated relief and recovery efforts.

Except for light showers in some areas, conditions remained largely pleasant across most of Rajouri district, with several places seeing sunshine after days of persistent rain, according to local reports.

The change in weather provided residents with a brief respite from the prolonged spell of adverse conditions and enabled authorities and emergency agencies to accelerate restoration operations.

Vehicular movement increased on major roads as well as interior routes, with commuters resuming journeys that had been disrupted by heavy rainfall and flooding.

Markets also saw a noticeable increase in activity, with residents leaving their homes to purchase essential supplies and attend to work that had been delayed during the period of bad weather.

The improvement in conditions also allowed government departments and relief agencies to continue restoration and relief operations in the two districts, where recent flooding caused disruption in several areas.

However, the respite did not bring an end to the search for those reported missing following the flash floods.

Search teams continued operations at multiple locations across Rajouri and Poonch, focusing on rivers, streams and other areas considered vulnerable to sudden rises in water levels.

There was no immediate breakthrough in the search by Sunday, officials said.

Seven people remain missing in the two districts following the recent flash floods, including six from Poonch district and one government employee from Rajouri.

Rescue agencies have intensified efforts to trace the missing people, deploying teams along riverbanks and other locations where floodwaters may have carried debris or victims downstream.

The continuing search has kept families of the missing on alert as they await information about their relatives.

The latest improvement in weather has nevertheless provided authorities with a window to strengthen restoration work and assess damage caused by the recent spell of heavy rain.

The Pir Panjal districts have experienced repeated disruption in recent days as intense rainfall affected roads, water channels and other infrastructure, while emergency agencies were called upon to respond to flooding and related incidents.

With further rain forecast in parts of Jammu and Kashmir, authorities remain alert to the possibility of renewed flooding and other weather-related incidents, particularly in vulnerable mountainous areas.

For residents of Rajouri and Poonch, Sunday’s brighter conditions offered temporary relief, but the continued search for seven missing people underscored the human cost of the recent floods.