At 12:25 pm on August 14, Dr Krishan Singh Katoch at the sub-district hospital in Atholi, Kishtwar, received a phone call: there had been a cloudburst nearby and the dead and the wounded were being brought to there. What followed was a flurry of activities: clearing the two-storeyed hospital for the wounded, calling back is staff, stocking up medicines and keeping the hall on standby for the casualties.
On the afternoon of August 14, a cloudburst at the Mata Machail yatra route in Kishtwar caused the death of over 50 people. The flash floods, which came at a time of the ongoing Mata Machail yatra, is believed to have swept away several pilgrims and damaged several homes, with over 70 people still believed to be missing.
At the 20-bed Atholi hospital, Paddar Block Medical Officer Dr Katoch and his team prepared for the inflow. The hospital was already working with skeletal staff – three of its six doctors and some paramedics were on pilgrimage duty, and the hospital was short of medicines, equipment and hospital beds to cope with the inflow, doctors and eyewitnesses said.
“Mattresses were put on the floor,” one eyewitness who helped with the rescue said.
The staff then geared up: first, they cleared the wards. Those who were in serious condition were referred to the government-run district hospital at Kishtwar and from there, the critical ones to Government Medical College and Hospital at Doda and Jammu, Dr Katoch told The Indian Express.
Others were treated at Atholi and discharged after first aid.
At the same time, those on yatra duty were called back and the Kishtwar district administration was called in for help. One ward was especially dedicated to disaster patients, and doctors and medical staff in the area were asked to get whatever medicine they had at hand.
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“There were only three ambulances at that time and local residents were asked if they could help bring in the injured,” Dr Katoch said. “A day after the cloudburst, the sub-district hospital didn’t have a single pilgrim. After providing initial treatment to the seriously injured, we referred them to the district hospital at Kishtwar. The remaining ones were discharged either after first aid or after keeping them under observation for 24 hours.”
Meanwhile, efforts to search for the missing continue near Chishoti village, with rescuers finding five more bodies buried in the slush. This brings the total number of bodies to 58, while some others died on the way to the hospital, officials said.
With this, the number of bodies recovered from the cloudburst site has risen to 58. At least 100 people are injured, many of whom are at the Government Medical College and Hospital in Jammu, officials said.
According to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who visited the site, between 70-80 people are still missing, and the figure is likely to keep changing.
“This shows how difficult the situation is,” he said.
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As rescuers from the Army, the National Disaster Response Force, the State Disaster Response Force, and Jammu Kashmir Police pushed on with the operations with help from locals, more manpower and machines were deployed for assistance. Videos from the site shows locals helping authorities with clearing the site of slush, boulders and uprooted trees.
Omar announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the families of the deceased, Rs 1 lakh to those with severe injuries and Rs 50,000 for minor injuries.
He also announced compensation for destruction to homes: Rs 1 lakh for fully-damaged houses, between 50,000 for extensive damage and Rs 25,000 for partial.
The district administration has organised community kitchens for those whose homes have been washed away.
