Kashmir Impulse Desk

Jammu, July 19

Rescue teams evacuated hundreds of people from flood-hit areas of Rajouri and Poonch on Sunday as the Army, police, disaster response personnel and civil authorities intensified operations following devastating flash floods and landslides that killed at least 11 people across the Pir Panjal region.

Multiple agencies worked through the day to rescue residents stranded by overflowing rivers and inundated villages after torrential rain triggered widespread flooding across the twin border districts, with authorities shifting affected families to safer locations and setting up relief camps for those left homeless.

The Indian Army, operating under the White Knight Corps, said it rescued 11 civilians, including five children, in coordinated operations with the Jammu and Kashmir Police, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the civil administration. Nine people stranded across a flooded stream near Churung village in Thannamandi were brought to safety despite strong currents, while engineers rescued two youths marooned on a river island in the Tawi near Nowshera.

The SDRF and local authorities carried out additional rescue operations across the region, evacuating stranded residents and livestock from floodwaters in Poonch while relocating vulnerable families from inundated areas of Rajouri. Rescue teams were also deployed to damaged villages to assess losses and search for people feared trapped after houses collapsed in the overnight flooding.

In Rajouri town, where floodwaters swept through low-lying neighbourhoods, more than 100 makeshift dwellings in a slum settlement were washed away or rendered uninhabitable, forcing dozens of families to seek shelter elsewhere. The district administration established a relief centre at the Government Boys Higher Secondary School, where displaced families were being accommodated and provided emergency assistance. Officials said around 165 affected families had been identified for relocation, with the evacuation process continuing.

Authorities said rescue and relief operations would continue as teams searched for missing people, assessed damage and worked to restore essential services in the flood-ravaged districts.