Kashmir Floods Kill At Least 270; Narendra Modi Calls It ‘National Level Disaster’

At least 270 people have been killed and thousands have been displaced on both sides of the India-Pakistan border in Kashmir. The region has been inundated with its worst floods in 60 years, triggered by a week of heavy rains.

In India's state of Jammu and Kashmir, 170 people have been killed and more than 15,000 people have been evacuated from flood-hit areas. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who surveyed the Kashmir valley from a helicopter on Sunday, reportedly called the crisis a “national level disaster” and announced 11 billion rupees ($180 million) for disaster relief and compensation for families of the victims.

"In this hour of distress, the Prime Minister offered all possible assistance to the people of the region and said that the Government of India was ready to provide humanitarian assistance to those areas if the Pakistan government needs it,” a statement from Modi's office said. “This is a national-level disaster. We stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of J&K in this hour of crisis,” Modi said in the statement.

According to local reports, the Indian Air Force has deployed at least 23 planes and 26 helicopters for the rescue of thousands of people stranded in several flood-hit areas, while about 200 army columns are facilitating the rescue operation.

India's National Disaster Response Force, or NDRF, which has also been a part of the rescue operation, has so far sent about 70 boats and five teams to the state of Jammu and Kashmir to deal with the crisis.

Modi announced in the statement that 100,000 blankets, 5,000 tents and 50 tons of milk powder would be distributed to people who have been forced out of their homes by the floods. Several areas, including the state's summer capital, Srinagar, a city of 900,000 people, has reportedly been without electricity for several hours. Modi's office also announced that 2,000 solar lamps would be sent to affected regions.

According to NDTV, a local news network, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, said: “I appeal to people to not panic, I know the circumstances are bad but request them to stay on upper floors. We promise to reach them.”

Here are some photos of the rescue operation posted by the Indian Army on its Twitter account.