On Wednesday morning, reports came in that three districts in Sikkim- Mangan (north Sikkim), Pakyong and Gangtok (East Sikkim) have been affected by flash floods due to a cloud burst. The floods started just after midnight and have caused massive damage. Mangan is the worst hit. Officials also reported that the water level In River Teesta is about to cross the danger level mark. A flood alert has also been issued for some districts in North Bengal and Bangladesh.
The reason for the sudden flooding is said to be the release of water from the Chungthang dam after a cloud burst over Lhonak Lake in North Sikkim. The remote area lies close to the border with Nepal, and Lhonak lake basically is at the base of a glacier with snowy peaks that surround the world’s third highest mountain, Kangchenjunga.
Providing Relief to the public of Sikkim
The National Disaster Relief Force (NRDF) has used three teams for relief operations. A spokesperson said that one team has been deployed in Gangtok along with two other teams for other locations. The force has successfully rescued seven people already and are armed with ropes, ladders, and other necessary equipment.
This surge of water has affected army vehicles parked at Bardang near Singtam as well. Twenty three army personnels have been reported missing and forty one vehicles are submerged. Over twenty civilians have been reported missing, while three have reportedly lost their lives due to this natural calamity. Many search operations are also going on.
According to the Chief Secretary of West Bengal, three bodies have been recovered from the Teesta collapse, however they are yet to be identified.
Damage caused by Flash Flood
Sikkim’s biggest hydroelectric power project Sikkim Urja (formerly Teesta Urja) has suffered from massive damage due to a flash flood on Tuesday night as the dam and the bridge connecting the powerhouse have been washed away.
The executive Chairman mentioned that the dam located at Chungthang got washed away in under ten minutes just after midnight. They also saw that the two hundred meter long bridge collapsed connecting the powerhouse had washed away. The entire powerhouse has been submerged under water.
At least thirty people have been reported missing and six bridges have been washed away in North Sikkim since Tuesday night due to the flash floods.
The 1200 MW project on Teesta river had started making profits for the first time only last year. The dam and the bridge will need to be rebuilt, which alone would cost thousands of crores of rupees and on top of that will come the losses.
The Indreni Bridge, a steel bridge at Singtam, has also been completely washed away.
The Jalpaiguri and Kalimpong administration in West Bengal have started evacuating people from the lower catchment area of the river as a precautionary measure. The government of Sikkim has sounded a high alert in the area and has also asked people to stay away from the river.
States providing help
The Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee has appealed to the state’s northern half to maintain ‘maximum vigil’. She has ordered the set up of two control rooms with help line numbers in view of the impact of Sikkim’s cloudburst on the state’s northern districts.
The India Meteorological Department has issued an Orange warning of heavy rain in Gangtok, Gyalshing, Pakyong, and Soreng district for the next two days. A red alert of extremely heavy rainfall has been issued in Mangan and Namchi districts. They also report that River Teesta is swollen after the overflow of the dam and have specifically asked low-lying areas such as Gazoldoba, Domohani, Mekhaliganj and Ghish to be on alert as they may be affected by the same.
