Srinagar, June 30: Floods have been declared in southern and central in Kashmir as incessant rainfall has led to a surge in the level of Jhelum and its tributaries in the Valley. The Irrigation and Flood Control Department has deployed 17 teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) to prevent casualties. Residents living on river bank embankments are likely to be temporarily evacuated till the water-level recedes. In Jammu region, at least three deaths have been reported due to the torrential downpour.

"Flood has been declared. We've requested people in low-lying areas to be extremely alert and vigilant but a call for evacuation has not been made yet. There is no need to panic. We've identified a dozen relief camps. 17 SDRF teams have been deployed," said IAS officer Syed Abid Rasheed Shah, who is the Deputy Commissioner of Srinagar.

Floods were declared in southern Kashmir on Friday, after the Jhelum river surged above the 21-feet mark in Sangam, located in Anantnag district. By this morning, the water was flowing at nearly 23.8 feet.

In the central Kashmir districts, the flood declaration came on Saturday after Jhelum crossed the 18-feet mark at Ram Munshi Bagh, located in Srinagar district. At 8am today, the water was flowing at 20.77-feet, said the officials of the Flood Control department.

The Amarnath Yatra has been suspended due to incessant rainfall. The fourth batch of pilgrim who arrived at the Pahalgam base camp were stopped from embarking on the pilgrimage due to the rough weather.

The meteorological department of Jammu & Kashmir recorded the maximum rainfall in South Kashmir's Anantnag, where 63.4mm downpour was measured till Friday midnight. In Srinagar, 12.6mm rainfall was recorded until last measure, whereas, Pahalgam received 27.8mm of rains.

While floods have been declared in the Valley, an alert has been sounded in Jammu region, particularly the mountainous district of Doda. The Chenab, along with the Darhali river were overflowing due to the incessant rainfall.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 30, 2018 04:05 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).