Authorities in India are in a hurry to save people who are missing after sudden floods in the state of Sikkim. The floods have caused 102 people to go missing, including 22 army members.
Fourteen people have died because of a big flood caused by a lake in the Himalayas overflowing.
Officials said that there were more than 3,000 tourists who couldn’t leave different areas of the state.
Many people who look for and save others have been sent all over the state.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked to Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang on Wednesday and promised to support him in every possible way.
The Lhonak lake in the state had its barrier broken on Tuesday night because of a lot of rain. This caused the water level in the Teesta river in Lachen Valley to increase rapidly.
The flood got worse because water was let out from a dam close to the river. A person from the military said that the water levels suddenly went up by 15-20 feet in the area further down the stream.
Around 14 individuals were stuck in the tunnels of the dam, according to a government representative.
Pictures taken from space by Isro, India’s space agency, displayed major differences in the size of the lake. On September 28th, the lake covered an area of 167. 4 hectares, but by October 4th, it had decreased to 60. 3
The Indian army is searching very hard to find and save people who are missing. Officials said that a soldier was saved on Wednesday night and is doing well.
Rescue workers have also recovered bodies, including that of a child, from the flood area of the Teesta river in Singtam, according to officials from the PTI news agency.
The search operations are happening during heavy rain and fast-moving water in the Teesta River. Many roads and bridges have been washed away.
The floods in Sikkim have caused a lot of damage to things like roads and bridges, according to the chief secretary VB Pathak.
Cell phone service in the northern areas of the state has also been interrupted.
The army has created three phone lines to help families of missing individuals, including their own soldiers.
“Family members of the people who are missing have been reached out to and told about what’s happening,” the message stated.
The northern areas of the nearby West Bengal state are also facing problems because water from the Teesta River has flooded the districts of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Cooch Behar, and Jalpaiguri.
On Wednesday, Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal, said that the government saved and relocated 10,000 individuals to 190 shelter camps.
Flooding and other natural disasters happen often in Sikkim, which is located in the Himalayas. Last year, a lot of rain caused very bad floods in that place. This made tens of thousands of people have to leave their homes and sadly, at least 24 people died.
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