7 killed after cloudburst, landslide in India's Jammu and Kashmir

At least seven people were killed and many others were injured in two separate incidents of cloudburst and landslide in India's Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district, NDTV reports citing officials on Sunday.

Five people lost their lives due to flooding caused by a cloudburst in Jodh Ghati, while two people were killed in a landslide in Janglote. Both incidents occurred during the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed grief over the incident and directed officials to carry out relief and rescue measures to ensure the safety of people in cloudburst and landslide-hit Kathua district.

The Kathua administration issued a weather advisory and said "heavy to very heavy rainfall" is reported across the district. It also requested the public to stay away from water bodies.

"The public is strongly advised to avoid going near rivers, streams, nahallas and other water bodies, besides avoiding hilly and landslide and other risk-prone areas. Due to heavy rainfall, water levels can rise rapidly, increasing the risk of flash floods and landslides," the District Information Centre, Kathua, said in a post on X.

Heavy rainfall has led to a sharp increase in the level of most of the water bodies, with the Ujh river flowing near the danger mark, the officials said.

Earlier this week, more than 50 people were killed and over 100 others were injured after flash floods triggered by the cloudburst hit Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar. At least 82 people are still missing.