JAMMU, October 12, 2026 – Torrential rains and fierce hailstorms unleashed unprecedented havoc across Jammu on Sunday, disrupting normal life, inundating residential areas, and causing widespread damage to public property and agriculture. The extreme weather event broke a 70-year-old rainfall record, tragically claiming the lives of at least two people who were washed away in flash floods in the Raipur-Domana area.
According to Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Director of the Meteorological Department (MeT) in Srinagar, Jammu City recorded an all-time high of 185.6 mm of rainfall within a 24-hour period on Sunday. “After 70 years, such high rainfall has been recorded in the month of October. In 1955, the MeT office recorded 130 mm of rainfall in Jammu City in October, which was the highest so far. Today, that record has been broken,” he confirmed.
The intense downpour, which began around 8:30 am and lasted for over three hours, turned day into night with thick, dark clouds blanketing the city. The resultant flash floods washed away several vehicles. In the Raipur area of Jammu North, a 27-year-old woman, Ruksana Kouser, was swept away by a flash flood while attempting to save her car along with her husband. While her husband managed to escape, Ruksana could not be traced. Her car was found trapped in stones nearly 50 meters downstream.
In another tragic incident, the body of Ram Sajan, a laborer hailing from Uttar Pradesh, was recovered on Sunday evening after he was washed away in a flooded nallah (drain) in the Domana area. His motorcycle was also swept away by the raging waters.
Several other dramatic rescues were reported. A car carrying a driver, a woman, and a child was swept into the Pattian-Rajinder Nagar Nallah near Bantalab, but the occupants were courageously saved by locals and nearby petrol pump staff. An autorickshaw driver narrowly escaped when his vehicle overturned in the same flooded drain.
The heavy rains severely waterlogged multiple city areas, including Roop Nagar, Muthi, Chinore, Durga Nagar, Talab Tillo, Nanak Nagar, and Bathindi. Landslides were reported on the Panjtirthi-Sidhra and Jammu-Manda-Nagrota road stretches, causing massive traffic snarls before authorities deployed heavy machinery to clear the debris. The severe weather also disrupted morning helicopter services in Katra, temporarily halting the Mata Vaishno Devi yatra.
Farmers in rural belts, including Marh, RS Pura, Arnia, Bishnah, and Ramgarh, reported heavy damage to their ready-to-harvest paddy crops due to the accompanying hailstorm, prompting urgent appeals for government assistance.
The Meteorological Centre has issued a weather advisory, forecasting another spell of rain, thunderstorms, and gusty winds across Jammu and Kashmir from October 13 to 15, urging farmers to ensure the safe storage of harvested crops to prevent further losses.
Published by True Roots Media Network