Cut Off And Flooded
Is Kashmir Reliving the 2014 Floods?
Suhai Khan
A familiar nightmare has returned to Kashmir as the Jhelum River overflowed, inundating homes and markets. Compounding the disaster, widespread disruptions to phone and internet services have plunged the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir into a communication blackout since Tuesday afternoon. This outage severely hampered daily life and emergency response efforts during a period of heavy rainfall and severe flooding.
The scenes of helplessness—with people stranded and crying for help—are vividly reminiscent of the devastating 2014 floods.
In the summer capital, Srinagar, the situation remains tense. Panic spread among residents, particularly in the Rajbagh area, after water from the Jhelum River began entering residential neighborhoods and submerging streets. Water levels rose rapidly on Wednesday morning, leaving residents in areas like Kursu Rajbagh extremely anxious.
This panic extended to local markets. As the situation in Rajbagh deteriorated, traders hastily erected sandbags while families rushed to upper floors for safety. The pervasive feeling is one of a recurring nightmare, with everyone praying for the weather to improve and asking the same helpless question: “Will the 2014 floods happen again?” This fear lingered in everyone’s minds as they prepared for another uncertain night.
In the Anantnag district, rising water levels prompted the local administration to place relevant departments on high alert and initiate swift response measures. Some relief was observed later in the evening as water levels began receding in parts of South Kashmir due to improved weather conditions.
A senior official stated that water levels are expected to start receding in Srinagar in the coming hours, adding, “Even if it crossed the danger mark, there is no need to worry.”
District administrations and police in Anantnag, Kulgam, and Srinagar have been actively relocating people from low-lying areas to safer locations. Police have launched a comprehensive response mechanism to ensure public safety and mobility, providing frontline assistance to affected residents.
To assess flood preparedness, Minister for Jal Shakti, Javed Ahmed Rana, chaired a high-level meeting. Accompanied by Nasir Aslam Wani, Advisor to the Chief Minister, he also conducted a ground review at the Flood Monitoring Station in Sangam. He directed officials to maintain close surveillance of vulnerable areas, ensure round-the-clock communication, and activate public announcement systems for timely alerts. Rana emphasised the need for a “robust and proactive strategy” to protect lives and minimise damage.
Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Anshul Garg, also convened an urgent meeting with department heads and district officials to assess flood readiness. The meeting covered district-wise assessments, vulnerability mapping, and the operational status of control rooms. Garg instructed departments to update logistics and resource availability on an official portal for a centralised dashboard. To ensure emergency access, he also directed the immediate clearance of landslide debris from roads.
District administrations have issued advisories urging the public and tourists to stay alert for signs of waterlogging or sudden rises in water levels. The advisory warned fishermen and shikara owners to avoid deep waters and asked residents to avoid riverbanks, streams (nallahs), and flood-prone areas. It also advised the elderly and children to remain indoors and away from water bodies.
“Avoid visiting river banks, nallahs, and flood-prone areas until further orders. Stay away from slopes to avoid the risk of landslides. Children and the elderly must remain indoors and away from water bodies,” the advisory stated.
Residents have been urged to relocate livestock to higher ground, store emergency supplies and important documents in waterproof containers, and prepare for possible evacuation if instructed.
Meanwhile, the network failure—triggered by extensive damage to critical fibre optic cables from the severe weather—has drawn parallels to past communication shutdowns. People across the union territory struggled to access vital information, conduct financial transactions, or contact loved ones.
This loss of connectivity has exacerbated the critical situation. With torrential rains causing flooding in several areas and major rivers in the Jammu region swelling past danger levels, the inability to receive weather alerts or make emergency calls has heightened public anxiety.
From Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday evening, mobile data, voice calls, and even landline and fibre-based broadband services remained largely inoperative. This has rendered digital payment platforms like UPI unusable, crippled businesses reliant on online transactions, and cut off students from essential educational resources.
Amid the crisis, former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah highlighted the severity of the situation on social media platform X, stating he had to rely on a limited mobile data trickle to post. “Still struggling with almost nonexistent communication… Haven’t felt this disconnected since the terrible days of 2014 & 2019,” he wrote, referencing the 2014 floods and the communication blackout that followed the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
Mr. Abdullah later posted that he had briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the emerging situation after touring affected areas in Jammu and was “grateful for his assurance of continued assistance.”
Telecom providers attributed the outage to “multiple fibre cuts,” noting that technical teams were deployed to identify and repair the damage. State-owned BSNL also reported failures in its fibre and landline services. While Airtel noted an outage triggered by an alarm on a node in Jammu, relief finally came after more than 15 hours when telecommunication services were gradually restored.
The communications blackout has inflicted a profound and deeply personal toll on residents, creating a landscape of anxiety and disruption that extends far beyond mere inconvenience.
Majid Ahmad, a resident of Srinagar, described the critical challenge of acquiring essential medication, as the collapse of digital banking services rendered modern payment methods useless. “In a cashless society, a dead network can become a matter of health and safety,” he explained to The Web Story/The Varmul Post, highlighting the vulnerability of those reliant on digital transactions for daily necessities.
Muneeb Ahmad, who works in Bangalore, expressed deep concern after being unable to reach his family for over a day. “The silence has been agonizing. The complete inability to contact my family for more than 15 hours is terrifying,” he shared, his voice heavy with worry. “You are left with nothing but your own fears, imagining the worst with no way to get reassurance or provide it.”
The academic pursuits of students have also been thrown into disarray. Saima, a postgraduate scholar at the University of Kashmir, recounted the frustration of having a vital mentorship call with an overseas professor severed without warning. “This isolation doesn’t just pause our education; it dismantles the very connections we need to advance it, leaving us stranded and falling behind,” she stated.
For local commerce, the shutdown has been financially devastating. Zubair Ahmad, who owns a courier service, detailed the operational paralysis. “Our business is built on real-time information, and without it, we are hemorrhaging money. Financial transactions are frozen in limbo, delivery routes cannot be optimized, and customer orders are essentially lost in a void. Each passing hour deepens the financial wound,” he said.
In response to the continuing inclement weather, authorities have announced the precautionary closure of all schools and colleges across the Union Territory on Thursday.
Education Minister Sakina Itoo confirmed the closure on the micro-blogging platform X, writing, “Schools and Colleges across Jammu & Kashmir will remain closed tomorrow (28.08.2025) in view of inclement weather.”
Earlier this evening, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah announced an ex-gratia payment of ₹6 lakh for the next of kin of those who lost their lives in a landslide at Mata Vaishno Devi and other flood-related incidents across Jammu and Kashmir over the past two days.
The announcement was made on the micro-blogging platform X by the Chief Minister’s official handle. The post stated, “The Chief Minister has announced ₹6 lakh ex-gratia (₹4 lakh from SDRF & ₹2 lakh from CM’s Relief Fund) for the next of kin of those who lost their lives in the landslide at Mata Vaishno Devi & other flood-related incidents in the past two days in J&K.”
The post further detailed that ₹1 lakh will be given to the severely injured and ₹50,000 to those with minor injuries.
Additionally, the Chief Minister has directed the advance placement of ₹10 crore with each Deputy Commissioner to meet the immediate requirements of relief, rehabilitation, and restoration.
This disaster comes shortly after a catastrophic cloudburst struck Chasoti village in the Kishtwar district earlier this month, which claimed at least 65 lives and left 32 people missing. That disaster, which occurred on August 14, 2025, during the annual pilgrimage, exposed critical lapses in the management of one of Jammu and Kashmir’s most revered religious events. It has raised urgent questions about how to prevent such tragedies from becoming routine.
The cloudburst triggered flash floods that swept away a makeshift market, a community kitchen, a security outpost, 16 houses, three temples, four water mills, a 30-meter bridge, and over a dozen vehicles.
(With inputs from Burhan, Asif, Shabnam)
