Seven persons were killed and six injured in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district on Sunday after a cloudburst triggered a flash flood, Deccan Herald reported.

The cloudburst hit the Jod Ghati village in Rajbagh area during the night, the newspaper quoted Divisional Commissioner Ramesh Kumar as saying. The flash flood cut access to the village and damaged land and property, PTI reported.

The persons died in a landslide following the flash flood, Kumar was quoted as saying.

This came three days after 60 persons were killed in a flash flood triggered by a cloudburst in the Union Territory’s Kishtwar district. More than 100 persons were injured in the incident on Thursday.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday expressed his condolences to the families of those who were killed. He had directed officials to undertake relief, rescue and evacuation measures, his office said on social media.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh, who represents the Udhampur Lok Sabha seat, said that the railway track, the national highway and the police station in Kathua had also been damaged in the cloudburst. Kathua is part of the Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency.

“The civilian administration, military and paramilitary has swung into action,” Singh said on social media. “The situation [is] being continuously monitored.”

The Kathua district administration issued an advisory for “heavy to very heavy rainfall” in the region, urging the public to stay away from water bodies.

“The public is strongly advised to avoid going near rivers, streams, nahallas and other water bodies, besides avoiding hilly and landslide and other risk-prone areas,” it said on social media. “Due to heavy rainfall, water levels can rise rapidly, increasing the risk of flash floods and landslides.”

Meanwhile, the security forces intensified rescue and relief operations in Kishtwar following the flash flood there on Thursday, ANI reported.

“All the security forces are trying their best to rescue as many people as possible from the area affected by the cloudburst,” the news agency quoted Major General Bal as having told reporters on Saturday. “We are also providing relief to the local people who have suffered due to this disaster.”

The cloudburst took place near Kishtwar’s Chashoti, which is the last motorable village on the way to the Machail Mata temple, around 12.25 pm. A large number of devotees had gathered in the area for the annual Machail Mata yatra that began on July 25 and was scheduled to end on September 5.

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