J&K floods: Trapped on roofs, no help in sight

Terror strikes, civil unrest and 24x7 curfews — Srinagar's seen it all. But no one had witnessed nature's fury like this before. With no electricity, no telephone and waters still rising, thousands stranded wait to be rescued.
Cries for help unheard
Since Saturday , Suhail Ashraf frantically waved a red flag, made of a dupatta, from his house's rooftop at Nataraj Lane in the low-lying Wazir Bagh area.But his screams couldn't attract the attention of rescue helicopters, he said Sunday . On Saturday morning around 4 am, Jhelum's water started entering his house. Within hours, it reached the third floor.
“I can see people sitting in the helicopters; they can see the locality waving but they're not responding. There are no rescue boats in sight.My father, who had a kidney transplant last month, won't survive this. We're hoping against hope,“ he says.
In grip of panic
Shameema Akhtar, 42, never knew a week of rain would mean running for life with her family of five, including her mother-in-law and a daughter aged 3. Awaiting help on her house's third floor, she says things turned ugly Thursday night around 1.45 am, with the breakdown of the Doodh Gan ga flood channel. As muddy water gushed into her house in Bemina, there was panic all around. “By 6 am, water reached the first floor; by Friday afternoon, the second. My daughter has fever, there's no drinking water, no electricity and the mobile's about to die,“ she breaks down.
Helping each other
Along with the scary sounds of rising water, the Raj Bagh neighbourhood spent the night calling up each other. This is one of the first areas engulfed by the angry waters.Residents tried to build makeshift boats but nothing seemed to work. Sayeed Kareem Khan's two-storeyed house is submerged; the water 22 feet high and rising. Kareem says the water surged in so fast Saturday night the family couldn't salvage anything.“It may soon get to our third floor. The water chased us as we climbed the stairs. It's now been 18 hours, there's no help in sight. Dozens are trapped,“ he says.
Caught unawares
Mukhtair Ahmed, 28, resident of Natipora, never imagined the calm Jhelum could turn so furious. “We didn't leave my house as there was no flood warning issued. I've no idea where to go from this rooftop. The water entered as the locality slept. Now even our connection with Facebook and Twitter is gone,“ he said.