Flash floods and landslides kill eight in J&K's Poonch

Heavy rains triggered flash floods and landslides across parts of Jammu and Kashmir on July 19, 2026, killing at least eight people and leaving several others missing. The border districts of Poonch and Rajouri were the worst affected, with widespread damage to homes, roads, and public infrastructure reported.

The most severe impact was concentrated in Poonch district's Surankote tehsil. In Lower Murrah village, a landslide struck a house in the early hours, burying its occupants. Officials confirmed the recovery of two bodies, including a 60-year-old woman and a two-year-old child, while six other family members remained missing as rescue operations continued. In Noonabandi village, a 28-year-old woman, Nazia Kousar, was killed when her house collapsed. Her husband and three young children were rescued with injuries and hospitalized. Additional fatalities included a 22-year-old man in Sanglani-Surankote, a minor girl who drowned in a stream at Marhote, and an unidentified woman whose body was recovered from a stream near the Dhundak Lathoong bridge. In Rajouri town, flash floods following overnight rainfall led to the recovery of a woman's body from a river.