Floods, landslides kill 30 in India
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At least 30 people have been killed after floods and landslides, triggered by heavy monsoon rains, battered India’s Himalayan region of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday.
At least 30 people have been killed after floods and landslides, triggered by heavy monsoon rains, battered India’s Himalayan region of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday.
Raging waters smashed bridges, swamped homes, and left thousands fleeing for safety. A massive landslide on the route to the famous Hindu shrine Vaishno Devi claimed most of the lives, according to local disaster officials.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the deaths as “saddening.”
Floods and landslides are routine during the June–September monsoon, but experts warn climate change and reckless development are making disasters deadlier.
The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) said the wider Hindu Kush Himalaya is suffering “accelerated glacier melt, shifting weather patterns, and more frequent extreme events.”
In the Jammu region, schools have been shut as communication lines collapsed. The main Jhelum river in Kashmir has risen above danger level, forcing authorities to issue flood alerts, including for Srinagar.
The latest disaster follows a string of tragedies: on August 14, torrential rains killed at least 65 in Chisoti village, while more than 70 were feared dead after floods buried Dharali town in Uttarakhand earlier this month.
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