On August 26, 2025, at least 34 people were killed and 20 others were injured in a land sliding due to extraordinary rainfall.
On August 26, 2025, heavy monsoon rains affected parts of Jammu and Kashmir in northern India, causing widespread floods and land sliding. Unfortunately, there was an important land slide on the way to the Vishnu Devi shrine, which is a sacred Hindu location that attracts a large number of pilgrims. At the time of writing, life is reported to be 34 people, of which 20 more were injured.
I can find a little detailed information about this crackdown at this time – the site is remote and access is clearly extremely difficult. However, it highlights a very major problem that India is facing during the monsoon.
The Google Earth’s picture below shows the letters around the Vishnu Devi shrine (which is currently located [33.03004, 74.948032]:-
The landscape here is weakened and geographically weak, and the shrine is located toward a distant mountain, which is derived from tracks. Here is a good calculation of making a pilgrimage. The man started the journey at 19:15 and arrived at 02:00 the next day. The route is well -established but the journey is long (13 km). Most people go hiking. According to the temple itself, in 2025 there is a journey of more than 5.2 million people so far. Traveling during monsoon is not recommended, but many people inevitably travel.
Thus, these pilgrims, and others who also take devotion to the Himalayas, put people into the dynamic landscape at a time when land sliding is more likely. Of course, these people have more weakness. The tragedy of Vishnu Devi is the result.
Unfortunately, this incident is not isolated. On August 14, in the Choswati district of Kishtore district, in Jammu and Kashmir, Mitcheel Mata Yatra on the way to Ziarat, another large land slide in Jammu and Kashmir. The last loss of life is unclear, but at least 66 people were killed and some reports show that more than 75 people may go missing. There have been several other deadly land sliding this year on the routes of Hindu shrines.
And the loyal readers of this blog may remember the 2013 Kedarnath Disaster, when the flow of the devil’s debris plunged the path of the four -day shrine when it was made a pilgrimage. The remains of 733 victims were recovered, but 3,075 people are missing. With a total of 3,808 victims, it was one of the worst land slides of the last 30 years.
There are reports that Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, is asking why the Shri Mata Vishnu Devi Shrine Board did not suspend Ziarat. Reports show that the area received 629.4 mm of rainfall in a 24 -hour period, which is more than a large margin of the previous record (342 mm). According to the minister, these collections should have been made aware of the possibility of disaster.
While this is a suitable question, it is focusing on a short -term issue, rather than considering the basic issues. The fact is that the rapid intensity of rainfall in the monsoon of the summer is increasing rapidly in South Asia as a result of climate change, which triggers land sliding (especially channelized debris) and flooding. At the same time, a large number of pilgrims are traveling to the landscape, where they are extremely dangerous.
Managing this danger is a lot of taxes, but if a systematic step is not taken to protect the pilgrims, many people will lose their lives. These levels of damage may not be tolerable.
