From Floods to Earthquakes: The Role of Indian Armed Forces in Disaster Relief

In 2025, monsoon unleashed some of the worst floods in decades across Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. Rivers have overflowed, farmlands submerged, and in Punjab alone, 29 lives have been lost from August 1 to September 1, with crop damage reported on over three lakh acres.

To address the crisis, the Indian Armed Forces have launched extensive rescue and relief operations. Flood relief columns have been deployed under HADR (Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief) operations, working round-the-clock to evacuate civilians.

In Madhopur, troops of the 126 Infantry Battalion (TA) JAK RIF, known as the Raavi Terriers, were captured distributing food and essentials to displaced families.

Army engineers have also restored vital connectivity, constructing a 110-ft Bailey bridge over the Tawi River.

Meanwhile, Operation Rahat remains underway, rescuing families stranded in flood-ravaged villages of Punjab.

Among the most poignant missions, the Kharga Corps from the Western Command saved a mother and her 15-day-old infant, carrying them through flooded terrain to safety.

These operations are still ongoing, with soldiers continuing to wade through floodwaters, provide shelter and medical aid, and restore lifelines. Each act of courage reaffirms the Armed Forces’ role as the nation’s shield in its disastrous hours.

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For decades, the Indian Armed Forces have been the first to show up when nature unleashes its fury. They don’t wait for the storm to settle; they run straight into it. From earthquakes to floods, cyclones to landslides, their courage has been a steady hand for a shaken nation.

Let’s revisit some of these moments—times when their grit and humanity turned despair into survival.

In June 2013, cloudbursts and relentless off-season monsoon rains triggered one of the most devastating flash floods in Uttarakhand. The Indian Air Force conducted Operation Rahat, airlifting nearly 19,600 people and delivering over 3,82,000 kg of relief material to inaccessible areas.

Simultaneously, the Indian Army initiated Operation Ganga Prahar and later Operation Surya Hope, deploying thousands of troops to evacuate close to 1,00,000 stranded pilgrims and locals.

On the morning of December 26, 2004, the Indian Ocean shook violently—a 9.1-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Sumatra unleashed a massive tsunami that tore through communities along India’s eastern coast.

Into this chaos rushed the Indian Armed Forces. The Navy was the first responder and launched Operation Madad to help mainland India, while Operation Sea Waves focused on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Air Force reached the islands within an hour, rescuing stranded people. Together with the Coast Guard, they navigated treacherous waters, collapsed infrastructure, and relentless uncertainty, placing lives above everything else.

In 2001, when a massive earthquake hit Gujarat, the Indian Armed Forces came to provide emergency assistance and support to affected communities. The Indian Armed Forces sprang into action, deploying 5,000 soldiers and hundreds of tonnes of specialist heavy engineering equipment and essential medical aid.

Military hospitals in Ahmedabad and Bhuj provided additional medical aid. The IAF utilised 40 aircraft and helicopters to deliver logistics support and establish medical facilities, even activating the Bhuj air base despite suffering significant losses. Meanwhile, the Navy and Coast Guard transformed their ships into makeshift hospitals anchored off the north Gujarat coast.

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When Cyclone Hudhud struck the east coast in October 2014, it left a trail of devastation across Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. The Indian Navy led relief efforts under Operation Lehar, working alongside the Army and Air Force. Teams evacuated stranded civilians, distributed food and medical supplies, and assessed the widespread damage.

Heavy lift aircraft of the IAF, like C-17 Globemaster, along with C-130 Hercules and AN-32s, were mobilised to bring much-needed food supplies to thousands caught in the storm’s fury.

What we’ve spoken of are only a handful of chapters in a much larger story. There are so many more moments when the Indian Armed Forces came forward for relief operations. When Cyclone Fani (2019) tore through Odisha’s coast, when the Kerala floods of 2018 swallowed entire towns, when Cyclone Vardha (2016) paralysed Chennai, or when the Jammu & Kashmir floods of 2014 left families clinging to rooftops.

In each of these hours of despair, it wasn’t just uniforms we saw—it was humanity in motion. The NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) coordinated tirelessly with the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force, often being the first to cut through the chaos—restoring livelihoods and rebuilding lifelines.

As the flood-hit regions of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Punjab struggle to find their footing, it is the Armed Forces who stand firm in the chaos. Tirelessly working through long nights and rising waters, they evacuate families, deliver food and medicine, rebuild broken roads, and restore lifelines where none remain. Their courage goes beyond duty—it is humanity in action, a shield for those with nowhere else to turn. Time and again, in floods, earthquakes, and storms, they have lived their creed of Service Before Self, proving themselves the nation’s guardians in every crisis, and its hope in every storm.

Information Sources: ADGPI, PIB, Western Command, The Indian Navy, MHS India, Times of India, The Wire, Swarajya, The Indian Air Force