On September 7, after days of torrential rains, Srinagar, the capital of India-administered Kashmir, was completely submerged under floodwater in the worst disaster to have hit the region in decades.

The infrastructure in the Himalayan region, claimed by both India and Pakistan, suffered widespread damage especially to its medical facilities. Most of the machinery and diagnostic equipment were damaged, making it impossible for hospitals to function for more than two weeks.

Most of the big hospitals have been devastated and struggle to function nearly three weeks after the deluge that came after the Jhelam river, which runs through the city of one million, overflowed its banks.

Water has now receded from the hospital buildings but stinky mud-coated walls, scattered beds and furniture, swampy corridors and heaps of trash inside, make them look no less than ghost houses. Hospital authorities are now accepting help from the Fire and Emergency Service department for dewatering and sanitation.

Patients have been shifted to other hospitals in the vicinity which were either not effected or least-effected by the flooding. Hospital administrations are putting every effort to revive the healthcare system in the valley amid fears of a possible epidemic of disease.

“It’s impossible to fully restore the functioning of the hospitals very soon; all our diagnostic equipment, apparatuses and software are gone. The best we can do is to be content with what is available to us now…,” Dr Muneer Masoodi, the medical superintendent of GB Pant hospital, told Global News Insight.