Overview
- A pre-dawn cloudburst struck the Chatroo area of Kishtwar at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday and unleashed flash floods that carried boulders, mud and slush into the village market.
- The deluge made the Kishtwar–Chatroo–Sinthan highway impassable, swept away at least two parked vehicles and inundated several shops and two houses.
- District teams deployed excavators and JCBs to clear debris and reopened the highway to light motor vehicles after several hours of work.
- Authorities ordered schools in Kishtwar, Doda and Ramban to close and shift to online classes while officials evacuated people from risky spots and promised compensation to affected shopkeepers under government norms.
- Officials link the response to strengthened preparedness after last year’s deadly Chasoti cloudburst, noting Early Warning Systems are now in Kishtwar and Machhail and an automatic weather station is being installed in Padder.