Kashmir's Heavy Rains Kill 400+

Indian and Pakistani authorities did not anticipate the rains pounding Kashmir to be as heavy or, ultimately, fatal as they are proving to be. The strongest rains in the region in 50 years have caused 420 fatalities and left thousands of people marooned. “The damage is shocking, people have been stranded on rooftops of their homes for the last three days in some parts of Kashmir,” a senior official of India’s National Disaster Response Force said. “We were all caught off-guard because there was not a single warning issued by the weather office. The flash floods took us by surprise.” On the India side alone, 22,000 people have had to be evacuated from their homes. Pakistan has also suffered significant damage and 203 of the 420 casualties. “Nobody can fight with nature,” said Saeed Qureshi of Pakistan’s State Disaster Management Authority.