Srinagar: Mobile phone connectivity was partially restored on Wednesday (August 27) across Jammu and Kashmir, where surging rivers and landslides triggered by record torrential rains and suspected cloudbursts in the higher reaches killed at least 38 people in the last 24 hours while wreaking havoc at several places.The Union territory remained under a digital communications blackout for more than a day after rains accompanied by suspected cloudbursts triggered flash floods and reportedly washed away telecom fibre cables at ‘multiple places’ in the worst-hit Jammu region, where 36 people have been killed in three weather-related incidents.The death toll in the landslide en route to the Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu reached 32 on Wednesday, as more bodies were pulled out of debris comprising stones, rocks and boulders. Officials said that searches are underway at the site amid apprehensions that more people are buried under the rubble.Many among the deceased were pilgrims reportedly on the way to the Vaishno Devi shrine located atop the Trikuta hills in Jammu’s Reasi district on Tuesday.People at the premises of the Vaishno Devi Temple after the yatra was temporarily suspended following the landslide. Photo: PTI.At least 20 more people were injured when the landslide struck midway along the 12-km-long trail from Katra, one of the two routes used by pilgrims to reach the shrine.Officials said that Jammu recorded 380 mm of rainfall in the past 24 hours, making it the highest ever rainfall it has received in a 24-hour period since its observatory was established in 1910.All educational institutions and government offices in Jammu and Kashmir were ordered to remain closed on Wednesday amid continuing rains.In the past 24 hours, more than 5,000 people have been evacuated from Jammu’s low-lying areas, according to lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha.Over 3,500 people were rescued from Jammu district alone, where the Tawi River continued to flow dangerously as rains battered the region for a third consecutive day on Wednesday.Reports and witnesses said that the surge in water level damaged a bridge over the Tawi river at Bhagwati Nagar, which disrupted vehicular traffic in the winter capital. A photo from the scene of the incident showed a car dangling perilously from the bridge, while two more cars are also seen stuck on the damaged portion of the structure.Vehicles stuck as a portion of the Fourth Tawi Bridge lies damaged after relentless rainfall on August 26, 2025. Photo: PTI.Relentless rains also led to power outages and shortages of drinking water in some parts of Jammu, while air and railway traffic was also hit due to the cancellation of trains and flights amid bad weather.Some roads in Jammu division, particularly in the Chenab valley, have also been damaged due to landslides and overflowing tributaries.On Tuesday, three persons were killed, more than a dozen houses and shops were damaged, and four bridges were washed away due to heavy downpour in the Doda district of the Chenab valley.A woman was killed in the adjoining Kishtwar district on Tuesday after a residential house collapsed due to a landslide, while five children were injured in the incident.Officials said that the Chenab River was flowing near its danger mark, and the meteorological department has forecasted light and moderate rains in parts of Jammu and Kashmir till September 5.𝙒𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙐𝙥𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙅&𝙆●26 Aug (Evening):Current spell of hvy Rain over JMU Div & many parts of South KMR to continue till today late evening (8-10PM) and gradual decrease thereafter at many places till midnight.●27-29 Aug: Brief spell of Rain/thunder at few places. https://t.co/tmubTI49kj pic.twitter.com/dEzL6lNFe6— Meteorological Centre Srinagar (@metsrinagar) August 26, 2025Both lieutenant governor Sinha and chief minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday were monitoring the situation in Jammu, which has borne the brunt of rains and flash floods.Sinha announced ex-gratia relief of Rs 9 lakh for the next of kin of those killed in the Vaishno Devi landslide and also visited a hospital in Jammu where the injured are undergoing treatment. He said that the pilgrimage was stopped when the incident happened.In a veiled dig at the BJP-led Union government, Abdullah said that the elected government “will seek answers” on the “corrective steps” taken in Jammu and Kashmir over the last 11 years, after a major flood inundated large parts of the Union territory in 2014, in which more than 100 people were killed.Two photographs from 2014 floods & two from 2025 floods. Almost the same spot & very similar damage. What if anything did we learn from the 2014 floods? What corrective steps were taken in the last 11 years? What flood mitigation measures were implemented since Oct 2014? These… pic.twitter.com/EyYuY6xFkf— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) August 27, 2025The breakdown of communication lines has also triggered panic and outrage in Jammu and Kashmir, with no explanation forthcoming either from the Union territory government or telecom operators about what had led to the digital outage.Meanwhile, authorities on Wednesday declared a flood in the Jhelum River that splits the valley of Kashmir into two before flowing into Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. However, there are no reports of any casualties.The Jammu-Srinagar highway, the only all-weather road connecting Kashmir with the rest of the country, remained closed for a second consecutive day on Wednesday due to shooting stones and landslides triggered by rain and flash floods.Overflowing tributaries, rainwater and clogged sewer lines inundated some parts of the Kashmir valley, including some areas of the capital Srinagar, where waterlogged roads and alleys kept people indoors for most of the day on Wednesday.A spokesperson of the Srinagar district police said that a helpline has been set up to evacuate residents from low-lying and waterlogged areas. The spokesperson also shared photos showing civil officials and uniformed cops taking out anguished people from inundated areas of the city on their shoulders.“Srinagar Police urges the general Public to avoid unnecessary travel during heavy rainfall, report waterlogging, fallen trees or electric hazards to the nearest Police station or Police Control Room, and cooperate with field staff and follow advisories issued by official authorities [sic],” the spokesperson said.People stand near a partially damaged bridge as the Jhelum River flows in spate due to heavy rainfall in the Kashmir valley’s Anantnag on August 27, 2025. Photo: PTI.Officials said two persons died due to electrocution when they tried to retrieve goods from their waterlogged shop in Anantnag district on Wednesday. There were reports on the inundation of some residential and commercial areas of Srinagar and the south Kashmir districts of Kulgam and Anantnag, the latter of which is home to the source of the Jhelum River.Reports said that the water level in a tributary of the Lidder River in Pahalgam, which merges with the Jhelum River, touched 6.02 feet on Wednesday, surpassing an all-time high of 5.68 feet, causing it to breach its banks at some place.A popular selfie point set up by the Pahalgam Development Authority along the banks of the Lidder River was damaged in the breach.In view of the inclement weather, the Jammu and Kashmir government has ordered all educational institutions, which have been closed for the last two days in parts of the Union territory, to remain closed on Thursday as well. All examinations scheduled to be held on Thursday have also been postponed.Noting that there were a number of students from Jammu and Kashmir in Delhi who may be facing difficulties in contacting their relatives back home, the office of Srinagar MP Ruhullah Mehdi said they could reach out to it by email for help.