Eight National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams, comprising 400 personnel, were deployed in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday as a precautionary measure in view of the rising water levels of the Jhelum.
Although no breach of embankment was reported till late in the evening, the NDRF teams equipped with satellite phones, inflatable boats, outboard motors and life jackets were airlifted from its Bhatinda base to Srinagar.
The Army has also kept 20 columns on alert for rescue operations. Army personnel have been assisting the civil administration in flood control measures in Baramulla since Sunday and have undertaken operations in South Kashmir to rescue people trapped in collapsed houses.Earlier on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi rushed Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi to J&K for an assessment of the flood situation and to coordinate with the State agencies. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to Chief Minister Mufti Mohmmad Sayeed on the phone and assured him full Central assistance.
>Jhelum river crosses danger mark in Srinagar
Heavy rains forced authorities to issue an alert asking people to move to safer places.
>Modi sends high-level officials to assess situation
Prime Minister deputes Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi to visit the State today.
>Editorial: Lessons from a disaster
The Hindu's Editorial on the floods that ravaged Jammu and Kashmir last year.