Over 100 people are lost in northeast India because heavy rain made a glacial lake break, causing sudden floods that tore through Sikkim, a state in the Himalayas. At least 19 people died, and the floods destroyed roads and bridges, according to the state government.
A heavy rainstorm happened over Lhonak Lake in the northern part of the state. This caused a lot of water to rush down the Teesta River in Sikkim’s Lachen valley. The water levels in the river rose 15-20 feet higher than usual, according to the Indian Army. A cloudburst is a rainstorm that happens very suddenly and causes a lot of damage.
Chungthang Dam, which is also called the Teesta 3 dam and is a part of a big hydropower project in the state, got completely destroyed, as said in a statement by the National Disaster Management Authority on Wednesday night.
The state government says that the drinking water supplies and sewage treatment plants in the affected districts have been completely destroyed.
A video from the northern part of the state shows a lot of muddy water overflowing the river, and houses that are covered in mud and debris because of the flood. The images also show search teams using big machines to dig out army vehicles buried in the thick mud.
Rescue and fixing work is happening now with state and national disaster workers involved, the government said.
The Himalayan region, also called the rooftop of the world, is susceptible to sudden floods and landslides. Flooding is a common occurrence in Sikkim.
However, scientists state that severe weather is happening more often and becoming stronger as the climate crisis caused by humans worsens.
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) shared pictures of how much water came out of Lhonak Lake after the heavy rainfall.
Lhonak Lake is a big, bullet-shaped body of water that is formed by melting ice. It is located at the bottom of a glacier that is melting.
Looking at the pictures, we can see that over 60% of the water in the lake was lost after a big rainstorm caused the lake to overflow. This event occurs when a lake formed by a glacier becomes too full or when the land or ice around the lake breaks, causing the lake to overflow and release water and debris down the mountains.
A satellite picture showed a lake with 167. 4 hectares of water on September 28. But another picture taken on October 4 showed that the lake had shrunk by more than half, with only about 60. 3 hectares of water remaining.
The lake suddenly burst and approximately 105 hectares of land were drained out. This could result in a sudden flood in the Teesta River.
Scientists have been studying Lhonak Lake for a while. They have found that it is one of the glacial lakes in the area that is getting bigger very quickly. This means there is a high chance that the lake could burst its banks and cause a flood. Many studies have said this.
In the last few years, the state’s Disaster Management Authority went to the location on many trips. They found out that if the glacial lake burst, it would cause a lot of destruction downstream. It’s likely that people would lose their lives and property. Pipes were placed in the lake to take out the water as a temporary fix.
In May of last year, the government of the state gathered to discuss a possible danger. The director of Sikkim’s Department of Science and Technology emphasized the importance of creating a warning system for the glacial lakes in Sikkim.
The city of Pakyong in Sikkim was hit the hardest by the floods. According to the Sikkim government, seven people lost their lives and 59 people are currently missing.
Several members of the Indian Army are missing and their whereabouts are unknown. There is a big search going on to find the missing soldiers. However, the heavy rain and flooding have made it difficult because the roads are blocked and bridges are destroyed.
On Wednesday evening, the army said they found one soldier who was saved and is in a stable condition. However, 22 soldiers are still missing and haven’t been found.
The army said that some weapons and explosives were taken by the Teesta River. They asked people to stay alert and report anything strange or suspicious.
The military equipment that is missing could cause a big explosion, which could be very dangerous.
The government said that the flooding caused at least 11 bridges to collapse. This has made it difficult for rescuers to help people and has also blocked access to remote areas.
In the main city of Gangtok, three people died and 22 others are missing, according to reports.
More than 2,000 people had to leave their homes because of the floods, and the government set up special camps to help over 22,000 people who were affected.
On Thursday, the government of the state announced that around 3,000 tourists are stuck in Sikkim’s Lachung and Lachen areas. To rescue them, helicopters are being sent.
The Teesta-V Hydropower Station is currently not producing electricity and is shut down, according to the Power Ministry in India, as reported by All India Radio (AIR) News.
It said that the bridges downstream from Teesta-V Hydropower Station to Tarkhola and Pamphok have been underwater, which has made it very difficult for people to travel and communicate in those areas.
According to AIR News, the government will examine the damage caused to the hydropower projects once the flood water goes down.
The weather department of India says that it will keep raining heavily in the eastern and northeastern parts of the country, including Sikkim, for the next two days.
The chief minister of Sikkim, Prem Singh Tamang, said on X (formerly Twitter) that they have sent help to the areas affected by the flooding. He also visited Singtam, a town that has been affected by the flooding and is about 30 kilometers (18 miles) away from Gangtok, to see the damages and talk to the local people.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the situation as a “sad event caused by nature” and promised to provide any help needed to deal with the problem.
“I am hoping that everyone who has been affected stays safe and has a good health,” he wrote on X.
The Himalayan region is very sensitive to the climate emergency.
Glaciers in the Himalayas give water to rivers which then provide fresh water to two billion people. Many communities rely on this glacial water to water their crops.
A new report has said that as temperatures get warmer, the glaciers could melt and their ice could reduce by 80% by the year 2100. This could lead to more floods, landslides, avalanches, and droughts happening.
As ice in glaciers is melting very quickly, about 15 million people who live close to glacial lakes are in danger of dangerous glacial lake bursts. The majority of these people live in four countries: India, Pakistan, Peru, and China. This information comes from a study conducted earlier this year.
These lake bursts are like a big wave that happens on land, similar to a dam breaking suddenly. Experts said this causes a lot of damage.
The floods that follow can occur without any warning and previous bursts of glacial lakes have caused the death of thousands of people and damage to property and important infrastructure.
In a study conducted in 2020, researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati observed that the Teesta River basin has experienced more rainfall and higher temperatures in recent years. They also discovered that the glacial lakes in Sikkim are getting larger because the glaciers and snow are melting as the temperatures increase.
The scientists said that heavy rain can make lakes get bigger suddenly, which might cause dangerous floods. They said it’s very important for government departments to have the right tools to deal with these disasters, and for leaders to make plans to adapt to climate change.
In 2021, a big block of ice in the Himalayan mountains in Uttarakhand broke and caused a lot of water, dust, and rocks to fall down a steep slope. This damaged two power projects that use water to produce electricity and resulted in the death of at least 38 people.
In the northern part of India, people have been expressing concerns for many years about uncontrolled commercial growth, cutting down trees, and continuously constructing dams in the delicate area. These activities are making the region more susceptible to disasters like floods and landslides.