In the span of just 31 days, more than 100 lives were lost<\/a>, scores of families were displaced, and entire communities devastated, not just by the sheer force of nature but by the uncertainty and chaos that followed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n August 2025 will be remembered for the sheer scale and frequency of the natural disasters it experienced. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Jammu and Kashmir saw its sixth wettest August in 125 years, with 319.3 mm of rainfall; this was 73 percent above the norm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe recorded over 30 extreme weather events this month, including flash floods, cloudbursts, landslides, gusty winds, and thunderstorms. At least 14 of these led to fatalities,\u201d confirmed Dr. Mukhtar Ahmad, Director of the Meteorological Department, to Inter Press Service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The destruction was widespread. Among the most devastating incidents was the Kishtwar cloudburst on August 26<\/a>, which buried Chesoti village beneath a torrent of mud and boulders, killing at least 65 people, with several still missing. Just days later, a landslide along the Vaishno Devi route in the Jammu division claimed 35 more lives, many of them Hindu pilgrims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Inside a makeshift shelter near Chesoti, 45-year-old Ghulam Nabi recounted the horror of that night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe heard a roar like a thousand waterfalls. There wasn\u2019t even time to scream. The earth shook, and then everything was dark and wet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He lost his wife and two children\u2014their bodies found days later by rescue teams sifting through the debris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI never thought the mountain would come for us. We always feared the river, but it was the hillside that swallowed my family,\u201d Nabi told IPS News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Reasi, 13-year-old Manisha Devi stands at the edge of her ruined home, clutching a photograph of her elder brother, who had traveled to the Vaishno Devi <\/a>shrine to work as a porter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe sent me money so I could buy books. Now, he is gone, and so is our house,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Experts say the frequency and intensity of these disasters cannot be dismissed as mere chance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere is clear evidence that climate change is making rainfall events more erratic and intense, especially in mountainous terrain,\u201d explained Faizan Arif Keng, an independent weather forecaster. \u201cDoda received 290 percent more rainfall than normal. Udhampur, Ramban, and Samba were also hit with more than double their usual rain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe weather patterns are changing. We\u2019re seeing more cloudbursts, intense rainfall in a very short time, triggering flash floods and landslides. These are not isolated events but symptoms of a larger problem,\u201d said Ahmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Ladakh<\/a>, the story was even more dramatic. \u201cKargil<\/a> recorded a 1,530 percent surplus, and Leh almost 900 percent above average. These numbers are unprecedented and should be a wake-up call,\u201d said Keng.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If the rain brought tragedy for some, it spelled economic ruin for others. The closure of the Srinagar\u2013Jammu National Highway, the only road link connecting the landlocked Kashmir valley with the outer world, left thousands of trucks loaded with apples, pears, and plums stranded for days. The result: rotting fruit and plummeting prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At north Kashmir\u2019s Sopore Fruit market [Mandi], Asia\u2019s second-largest trading hub<\/a>, the atmosphere was grim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are staring at losses of around Rs 200 crore (about USD 22 million). If the trucks can\u2019t reach the markets on time, growers lose everything. Last year, we survived a similar crisis, but how many more can we take?\u201d Fayaz Ahmed Malik, president of the Mandi, told IPS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Grower Abdul Rashid, standing beside his damaged Gala apple boxes, shared his frustration. \u201cI spent all year in the orchard. Now, the apples are ruined. The buyers pay half the rate, sometimes less. How do I feed my family or pay my debts?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Kashmir region has endured its deadliest month in living memory. In 31 days, more than 100 lives were lost, scores of families were displaced, and entire communities were left shattered due to rain and landslides. Credit: Umar Manzoor Shah\/IPS<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mandi chairman, Bashir Ahmad Basheer, called for urgent government intervention: \u201cPartial traffic movement is not enough. We need priority passage for all fruit trucks. The growers\u2019 livelihoods depend on timely delivery. Every day\u2019s delay is a disaster.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Kashmir-region.jpg\")