I am from Poonch; my family still lives there. This is what I know as of 4:00 pm on May 9.

Read Poonch Shelling - Day One for context.

On the 8th of May, at 9:30 am, my mom calls. She says some elders in the family are refusing to leave Poonch. "me kya karoon? Akeli nikal jaaun?" She wants to get to Jammu, to safety.

This is the story of her journey.

May 7: Prelude

Shelling devastates the city of Poonch on the morning of the 7th. It stops at 12:00 pm. 15 dead, 50 injured.

My uncle switches on the news to see how the world has reacted. They haven't. He asks why? No one has answers. We look for local sources for news. A video shows a local news reporter – he turns on his selfie camera. A shell hits a house and a stream of blood gushes out. He keeps reporting as shells fall in the background. He pleads: "Please leave the city. Please leave Poonch."

Thousands leave. The road from Poonch to Surankote, a town 20 kilometers towards Jammu, is full of people - on foot, on bikes, in cars, trucks, or anything they could find. People do not want to spend the night in Poonch.

Throughout the evening, my family contemplates leaving Poonch. But they have shops, houses, friends. The discussion gets heated. They don’t want to leave everything behind. My uncle cleans his double‑barrel rifle.

My sister and I are looking for cabs to get our mom to safety. But everyone who could leave Poonch has already left. Poonch is a ghost town. Cabs are impossible to find. The day ends.

May 8: The Journey

I wake up at 7:00 am. I get the news that nothing happened between 12:00 and 7:00 am. The family groups have no new messages. Relief.

At 9:30 am, my mom calls. She says some elders in the family are refusing to leave Poonch. "me kya karoon? Akeli nikal jaaun?"

The family sits together at 10:00 am. They make a decision to leave. Next challenge is to find a cab. They convince a driver, who even with his family and children at home, decides to help.

Destination — Jammu. Departure time – 3:00 pm. Estimated arrival – 11:00 pm. Distance – 260 km.

The dark red line is the International Border, hereafter IB. The dotted line to the left of it is the Line of Control, the de facto border, hereafter the border. They have to go from the red circle to the green one. The pinkish line connecting the two is the way.

If they encounter shelling on the way, we have 4 possible shelters - Friends and family live in Surankote (20 km), Rajouri (80 km), Naushera (120 km), Sundarbani (150 km).

Route Map

At 3:00 pm they leave Poonch. My cousin is in the car. She shares her location with me. She shares videos. I can see relief on their faces. Bright sunshine. No shelling or gunfire in the background. Our dog is jumping from lap to lap.

At 4:00 pm they cross Surankote. Now they are out of the range of direct shelling.

At 6:00 pm, they cross Rajouri.

At 7:30 pm they cross Naushera. At 8:10, I check the location again. Same as 40 minutes ago. I call. They are having food. My cousin says they are out of danger, they are taking a break. They notice a moving red light in the sky. They ignore it.

At 8:11 pm, I receive a message from my sister in Jammu, "Bomb Bomb Siren".

I look on Twitter. Drones are flying over Jammu city. Swarms of red lights in the sky. Complete blackout in the city. Sirens everywhere. Gunfire. Artillery fire. This has NEVER happened in Jammu before.

My sister: "Loud bombs, University area, we are in the basement." She continues, "I have asked mom to reach Sundarbani and take shelter."

My family gets back in the car and moves towards Sundarbani, 30 kilometers away. Army stops them and asks them to head back. They decide to go back to Naushera. My mom was a teacher for 10 years, and her colleague, who is now a Principal in Naushera, gives them shelter for the night. They are on the first floor of a three‑story school building. Panicked, they contemplate going back to Poonch, where, at least, they have a home.

At 9:00 pm, I call my sister, but she doesn’t pick up. Army has jammed the phone networks. People are unable to receive calls. WhatsApp still works, so I get in touch. Red lights continue to rule the sky. Some people call them drones, some missiles, some planes. Constant booms and sirens.

Some say the defence airport is under attack, some say it's the university and some say the cantonment. People see red lights in Sundarbani, Naushera, Akhnoor (closest point to IB) and Pathankot. Heavy shelling in all the border areas near Jammu. All these areas on high alert with complete blackout.

At 11:00 pm, I call my mom. No shelling in Naushera area. No drone activity. Complete silence. They are safe. They are still thinking about going back to Poonch. Not for long.

May 9: Poonch, a city that was

By 12:00 am, my relatives in Poonch tell me that shelling has started at the border. They say - windows are shaking but nothing in the city yet. Not as bad as yesterday.

That changes at 12:06 am. A relative who is in Poonch messages in the group "Shelling in the city now."

All hell breaks loose.

Here are the messages we receive from different people.