Cloudburst in Indian Kashmir Claims 46 Lives, Over 200 Missing

KISHTWAR, India, At least 46 people have died and more than 200 are missing after sudden, heavy rainfall triggered a devastating cloudburst in the Kishtwar district of Indian-administered Kashmir on Thursday.

The disaster struck Chasoti, a key stopover along the popular pilgrimage route to the high-altitude Machail Mata temple. Officials said floodwaters swept away a community kitchen and a security post serving pilgrims.

“A large number of devotees had gathered for lunch when they were washed away,” one official told reporters, requesting anonymity.

The incident comes just over a week after floods and a mudslide engulfed an entire village in the neighbouring Himalayan state of Uttarakhand.

Jammu and Kashmir’s chief minister, Omar Abdullah, described the situation as “grim,” noting that verified information from the disaster zone was slow to emerge. Television footage showed panicked pilgrims as torrents of water surged through the village.

Ramesh Kumar, divisional commissioner of Kishtwar, said the cloudburst occurred at around 11:30 a.m. local time. Emergency services, including police, disaster response teams, and the army, were quickly deployed, with air force units also activated. Search and rescue efforts are ongoing.

According to the Indian Meteorological Department, a cloudburst is an intense downpour exceeding 100 millimetres in an hour, capable of triggering flash floods and landslides in mountainous regions during the monsoon.

The Srinagar weather office has forecast more heavy rain across parts of Kashmir, including Kishtwar, warning residents to avoid unstable structures, electric poles, and old trees amid risks of further flash floods and mudslides.