Sikkim flash floods: 14 dead, 22 jawans among 102 missing; 3,000 tourists stranded

At least 14 people have died and 102 others, including 22 army personnel, have been missing after a cloudburst over.

Lhonak Lake in north Sikkim triggered flash floods in the Teesta River basin on Wednesday. Also, over 20,000 people have been affected due to the calamity. Officials also told PTI that one of the 23 army men who had gone missing in the morning was rescued later.

As many as 3,000 tourists from various parts of the country were reported to be stranded in different parts of the state, PTI quoted Sikkim Chief Secretary VB Pathak as saying.

Following the tragedy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang to take stock of the situation in the state and assured him of all possible support. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also prayed for the well-being of the missing army personnel.

The Sikkim government, in a notification, said the natural calamity had been declared as a disaster.

10 DEAD IN SIKKIM FLASH FLOODS
Over 3,000 tourists from various parts of the country were reported to be stranded in different parts of Sikkim, as the flood situation in the state worsened at nearly 1.30 am on Wednesday, with the release of water from Chungthang dam. Several workers employed with the Teesta Stage III dam in Chungthang were also stranded in tunnels of the dam.

Initial reports suggested as many as 49 people, including 23 army personnel, went missing following a cloudburst over Lhonak Lake in north Sikkim, where flash floods were triggered in the Teesta River basin.

Several teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were pressed in for rescue and relief operations. Most of those reported missing and injured due to the flashfloods in Sikkim were reported from Chungthang in Mangan district, and Dikchu, Singtam in Gangtok district and Rangpo in Pakyong district. An official said some 166 people were so far rescued, including the army man.

Assessing the infrastructural damage in the state, Sikkim Chief Secretary said 14 bridges collapsed, with nine of them being under Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and five others belonging to the state government.

Parts of National Highway-10, the main link between Sikkim and the rest of the country, were washed away, while a flood alert was issued for North Bengal and Bangladesh through which the Teesta River flows.

Several towns, including Dikchu, Singtam and Rangpo, located in the Teesta basin, were flooded with the upsurge in the river. A notification by the education department said that all schools located in Mangan, Gangtok, Pakyong and Namchi districts will remain closed till October 8.

Chief Minister PS Tamang visited Singtam and took stock of the situation. Later, the state government set up 18 relief camps in Singtam, Rangpo, Dikchu and Adarsh Gaon to house the displaced people. To deal with the shortage of ration and other essentials in Sikkim, the state government decided to construct Bailey Bridge with help from the Army and National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL).

The Indian Army issued some helpline numbers in the wake of flash floods in Sikkim.

Army Helpline for East Sikkim – 8756991895

Army Helpline No for North Sikkim – 8750887741

Army Helpline for missing persons – 7588302011

On Wednesday, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said the possible cause of the flash floods in Sikkim could be a combination of excess rainfall and a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) event at South Lhonak Lake in North Sikkim. The NDMA also said the Himalayan ranges are host to many glacial lakes, estimated through remote sensing techniques at about 7,500 and of these, Sikkim has around 10 per cent of which nearly 25 are assessed to be at-risk.

The National Remote Sensing Centre, one of the Isro centres, also conducted a satellite-based study on the outburst of the South Lhonak lake in Sikkim by obtaining temporal satellite images (before & after) over the water body. The space agency said it will continue monitoring the lake further using the satellite data.