MUZAFFARABAD (Kashmir English): A devastating cloudburst has triggered a catastrophic flash flood in the Balgran village in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), leaving behind a trail of destruction.
The raging floodwaters have destroyed four homes in the region, damaging several others including the Jamia Masjid Balgran.
The floods also wreaked havoc on agricultural lands, washing away precious topsoil and destroying standing crops that villagers depended on for their livelihood.
State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) Azad Jammu & Kashmir team has reached the area.
A woman went missing and one body was recovered following flash floods triggered by a cloudburst, according to Saeed Qureshi, Director of SDMA.
Four residential houses were destroyed and a mosque was severely damaged, as reported by SDMA. The SDMA also confirmed that the cloudburst occurred in the “Magri Mali” and “Leswa” areas.
The SDMA further warned flash floods in Leswa Nullah may also affect several villages in the Neelum district.
Rescue operations have begun with the help of local volunteers, said Saeed Qureshi, Director of Operations, at SDMA.
The district administration, including the Assistant Commissioner of Patikka and police teams, have been dispatched to the affected area, confirmed Deputy Commissioner Muzaffarabad, Mudassar Farooq.
What is a cloudburst?
According to Britannica, which is a comprehensive and long-standing general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia:
“A Cloudburst, is a sudden, very heavy rainfall, usually local and of brief duration. Most so-called cloudbursts occur in connection with thunderstorms.
In these storms, there are violent uprushes of air, which at times prevent the condensing raindrops from falling to the ground.
A large amount of water may thus accumulate at high levels, and if the upward currents are weakened the whole of this water falls at one time.
Cloudbursts are especially common in mountainous areas. This is probably because the warm air currents of a thunderstorm tend to follow the upward slope of a mountain.
The effects of heavy rain are especially striking on mountain slopes because the falling water is concentrated in valleys and gulleys. Mountain cloudbursts cause sudden and destructive floods.
The intensity of rainfall in the most severe cloudbursts can only be conjectured.”
