Following torrential rains in north Sikkim early on Wednesday, a flash flood caused by a glacier lake outburst resulted in at least 14 fatalities and 120 missing individuals, including 23 members of the armed forces.
Officials report that at least 40 dead have been found by various organisations since the calamity happened, but the number is anticipated to grow considerably.
“The Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) in portions of Lhonak lake in Mangan district, which caused the rise of water levels with very high velocities downstream along the Teesta River Basin in the early hours of October 4, 2023, has caused severe damage in Mangan, Gangtok, Pakyong, and Namchi Districts,” an official statement by the Sikkim government read.
The Teesta III dam at Chunthang was also destroyed by the flash flood. The National Highway 10 (NH10) suffered numerous damages and at least six bridges were destroyed.
“North Sikkim has been totally cut off from the rest of the state while Sikkim has been cut off from the rest of India as the flood had badly hit NH10,” averred Prabhakar Rai, director, Sikkim’s disaster management department.
Approximately 39 mm of rain fell in North Sikkim between Tuesday morning and Wednesday morning.
“The rains had probably triggered an avalanche which led to a GLOF. As huge volumes of water and debris comprising boulders came gushing down they hit the hydro dam in Chunthang. The dam was washed away and the entire load gushing down with tremendous force,” mentioned Ashim Sattar, scientist at IISc Bengaluru.
“We are all aware of the recent natural calamity that has struck our state. Emergency services have been mobilised to the affected areas, and I personally visited Singtam to assess the damages and engage with the local community,” Prem Singh Tamang (Golay) chief minister of Sikkim wrote on his X handle.
The Central Water Commission (CWC) estimates that the flood happened about midnight. According to officials, the water level began to rise quickly, at a rate of around 15 metres per second. The Teesta river in Melli saw water flowing 3 metres above the danger threshold at approximately 6 am.
“The flood water reached Chungthang around 1 am and triggered heavy damage in the Teesta-III hydro dam. By around 2:30 pm the low-lying areas in the districts downstream were flooded,” mentioned an official related with case.
“Four major bridges, a GREF (General Reserve Engineering Force) crusher plant and hundreds of other houses have been damaged. NH-10 is blocked at multiple places. Some labourers at the GREF plant are also missing,” the official further added.
A flood alert was also issued for the areas of north Bengal and adjoining Bangladesh due to the Teesta river’s path through four West Bengal districts before entering Bangladesh.
“Release of huge volumes of water triggered a flood-like situation in the north Bengal districts. On the instructions of chief minister Mamata Banerjee, a team comprising state ministers and bureaucrats rushed to north Bengal to oversee rescue operations,” stated a West Bengal government official.
From the four districts of north Bengal, almost 5800 people have been rescued and sent to safer areas. An army column was commandeered to rescue a family that was trapped in the Rangpo region.
“Heavy rains couple with discharge of water from DVC barrages have resulted in flood-like situation on Bankura, Howrah, Hooghly, West Midnapore, and South 24 Parganas. The state government has set up 190 shelter camps and evacuated more than 500 people,” mentioned an official.
