Rivers overflowed, the raging waters flattening everything in their way, and boulders, trees and rocks hurtled down slopes across Jammu region on Tuesday (August 26, 2025), killing at least 13 people, including nine pilgrims struck by a landslip on the Vaishno Devi route.

The Jammu and Kashmir government has ordered the closure of all educational institutions and offices, except for essential services and law and order departments, due to heavy rain.

The Meteorological Department has forecast very heavy rainfall in the Jammu division over the next 40 hours, with water levels of the Basantar, Tawi, and Chenab Rivers currently at the alert mark. People have been strongly advised to stay away from riverbanks and flood-prone areas.

The pilgrimage to the famed shrine in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district was suspended when the mountainside literally gave way and stones, boulders, and rocks came hurtling down around 3 p.m., catching people unawares.

Rescue operations are underway near the Inderprastha Bhojnalaya at Adhkwari, officials said. The landslip struck at a point about halfway along the winding 12-km trek from Katra to the hilltop shrine.

Earlier, three persons were killed and over two dozen houses and bridges were damaged as heavy rains pounded Jammu, where almost all water bodies are flowing above the danger mark, submerging a number of low-lying areas and roads in the city and elsewhere, officials said.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said the situation in many parts of Jammu province was “quite serious” and he will be taking the next available flight from Srinagar to Jammu to personally monitor the developing situation.

The traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar and Kishtwar-Doda national highways was suspended, while dozens of hilly roads were blocked or damaged by landslips or flash floods, the officials said, adding the pilgrimage to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine was also suspended as a precautionary measure in view of the rains.