Flood Threat Returns

Rain has returned to Jammu and Kashmir with a vengeance, swelling rivers, cutting off the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, and shutting down schools and colleges. For people of the valley and the Jammu region, this is an all too familiar story, one that recalls the devastating floods of 2014, when delayed responses and broken communication lines turned a natural calamity into a full-blown human disaster.

The Meteorological Department has warned of heavy to very heavy rainfall in several districts, raising the spectre of flash floods, landslides, and cloudbursts. Water levels in key rivers, including the Tawi and Ujh in Jammu and the Jhelum in Kashmir, have already risen alarmingly. In Kathua and Samba, streams are crossing alert levels. A teenage boy has lost his life after being struck by lightning, adding to the grim toll of more than a hundred weather-related deaths since mid-August.

This is no time for complacency. Disaster preparedness cannot be a slogan rolled out after the rains stop, it must be a living, breathing system in place before, during, and after a crisis. In 2014, entire neighbourhoods of Srinagar were marooned not only by floodwaters. Mobile networks collapsed. Landlines went dead. Even government control rooms were unreachable when people needed them most. That failure must never happen again.

The administration must immediately ensure that backup communication lines, satellite phones, wireless networks, and emergency broadcast systems, are functional and accessible to both officials and the public. The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), already on high alert, must proactively map low-lying areas, identify vulnerable populations, and prepare for timely evacuations if river levels continue to climb.

Road and rail closures underline another weakness: over-dependence on a single highway lifeline. The closure of NH-44 due to landslides has once again severed Kashmir's umbilical cord with the rest of the country. Alternate routes, pre-positioned supplies, and helicopter support for stranded passengers must be part of a standing contingency plan, not an ad-hoc reaction.

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