Monsoon mayhem: Jammu and Kashmir's Doda battles flood; red alert for Uttarakhand

New Delhi: Several northern states are struggling with a merciless monsoon this year. Himachal has already witnessed landslide and heavy rains, torrential rains ravaged Uttarakhand, leading to landslides, waterlogging and flood-like situations in several districts on Tuesday and going by IMD forecast, the misery is far from over.Fairly widespread to widespread light/moderate rainfall with isolated heavy falls and thunderstorm/lightning very likely over Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and East Rajasthan during 20-24 July and over Punjab, Haryana-Chandigarh and Uttar Pradesh during 20-22 July and over West Rajasthan during 21-24 July, 2022, according to the All India weather summary and forecast bulletin published on Wednesday.Jammu and KashmirOvernight heavy rain near the Kahara village of Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district on Tuesday resulted in floods, which have caused a lot of damage in the area."The village area is currently experiencing floods caused by very heavy rainfall which has destroyed many houses and caused loss of property, including the Allama Iqbal Memorial Academy and the building and grounds of Tourism," said a local.The people urged the district administration and the lieutenant governor (LG) to deploy teams and take appropriate measures.Earlier on 14 July, heavy rains and flash floods had damaged a foot-over bridge in the hilly areas of Rajouri causing much inconvenience to the people, due to which people were forced to cross the rivulet in waist-deep water for commuting. The heavy rains in Rajouri had also damaged the crops of the local farmers.Speaking about the situation, DDC Chairman Panchayati Raj, Naseem Liqat said that he requested Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to declare it a state disaster.A cloudburst struck the holy cave area of Amarnath on 8 July and resulted in a heavy discharge of water in the 'Nallah' adjoining the holy cave, claiming 16 lives. In the tragic incident, at least 36 people were reported missing. The Amarnath Yatra was partially suspended after the said cloudburst incident, but it later resumed on 11 July  from the Nunwan-Pahalgam side.A cloudburst triggered by the heavy rains blocked the Srinagar-Leh highway on 5 July, after flash floods occurred in central Kashmir's Ganderbal district of Jammu and Kashmir. Flash floods also occurred in the Shah Mohallah Kullan area of Kangan in the Ganderbal district on 3 July, inundating several houses and causing damage.UttarakhandTorrential rains ravaged Uttarakhand and led to landslides, waterlogging and flood-like situations in several districts on Tuesday. Amid heavy rainfall, five roads were closed for vehicular movement, reports India Today.Amid a heavy rain alert for Wednesday, schools from Class 1 to 12 and all anganwadi centres will remain closed in Bageshwar, Tehri, Pauri, Pithoragarh and Nainital districts.The IMD issued a red alert of heavy to very heavy rainfall for 20 July for seven districts -- Dehradun, Tehri, Pauri, Nainital, Champawat, Udham Singh Nagar and Haridwar.Due to a heavy downpour, a house in Kapkot collapsed while another house was partially damaged. The families in both houses were rescued and shifted to a shelter camp, it reported.Chamoli district also witnessed extremely heavy rainfall on Tuesday evening. Fresh landslides are being reported in the district.Himachal PradeshHeavy rains continued to wreak havoc in Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday. Earlier, parts of Chandigarh-Manali-Leh Highway on 19 July was washed away. A cloudburst also hit Kinnaur district which damaged several houses in Shalkhar village. In another incident, at least eight people were injured in a landslide in the Kangra district on Tuedsay.