at 9:09 AM by Mallory Schnell

Catastrophic Flooding in Kashmir

Two weeks have passed since the flooding in Kashmir began, and the effects are much more serious than the high waters. Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced, and over five hundred people are dead after the Jhelum River burst its banks (The Weather Channel). Buildings and houses continue to be waterlogged, posing the increased threat of water-borne illnesses, such as Cholera.

Kashmir is the northwestern Himalayan region of India, comprised of both Indian-administered and Pakistani-administered territories. Historically, this region has been a center of conflict between India and Pakistan. With the rough condition of the state government, relief forces have lagged in responding and are deemed inadequate by the local people. Srinagar, the summer capital of Kashmir, is home to over a million people and is becoming a place of disease, as locals have been suffering from respiratory infections and gastric problems. Clean water is scarce as remains of carcasses litter the city. Here is what The Weather Channel had to say about the issue in Kashmir:

Countless bloated livestock carcasses were floating across the waterlogged Kashmir region of India, The Associated Press reported Tuesday. Many residents, warned to avoid the floodwaters, were rationing water bottles brought every few days by aid workers, as people accused the government of having been slow to respond to the floods that hit the Himalayan region. 

Disease has gone rampant in Kashmir, as flood waters pose an immediate and continuing threat to the area.