Gangtok:

The death count in the flash flood in Sikkim rose to 40 on Tuesday with two more bodies being found in the state, while 76 people are still missing about two weeks after the disaster, officials said.

The flash flood in the Teesta river, triggered by a cloudburst in the early hours of October 4, devastated the state, affecting about 88,000 people.

Sikkim has a population of about 6.10 lakh people, the lowest for any state in India, according to the 2011 census.

Most of the bodies were found in Pakyong. Among the 26 bodies found in the district, 15 were of civilians while 11 were of Armymen, according to the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority (SSDMA).

Four bodies were found in Mangan, eight bodies in Gangtok and two in Namchi, it said in a bulletin.

Several bodies have been found in neighbouring West Bengal as well, carried by the Teesta to the downstream areas, officials said.

Of the 76 people missing, 28 were from Pakyong, 23 from Gangtok, 20 from Mangan and five from Namchi.

At present, 20 relief camps are operational in the state and 2,080 people are taking shelter in them, the SSDMA said.

According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), a combination of excess rainfall and a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) event at South Lhonak Lake in North Sikkim could have triggered the flash floods. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Gangtok:

The count in the Sikkim flash flood has increased to 37, while 78 people remain missing six days after the deluge was triggered by a cloudburst, officials said on Wednesday.

Pakyong district accounted for the largest number of fatalities at 24, including 10 army personnel, followed by seven in Gangtok, four in Mangan and two in Namchi districts, they said.

Another 78 people are still missing in several towns in the Teesta river basin across the four districts that were flooded, the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority (SSDMA) said.

Around 6,001 people have been either rescued or evacuated from the flood-affected areas and the number of injured persons is 30, it said.

The count of people affected by the natural calamity stood at 87,300.

A total of 3,773 people were rendered homeless and provided shelter in 24 relief camps in the four districts, the SSDMA said.

The road network of the state was severely disrupted as 16 bridges, including nine in the heavily-ravaged Mangan district alone, were either submerged by the gushing waters or washed away, it added.

Meanwhile, evacuation of stranded tourists and locals from north Sikkim could not take place by air on Wednesday due to inclement weather, a state government official said.

“Due to unfavourable weather condition, the air evacuation operation from Lachung and Lachen in north Sikkim could not take place today,” Planning & Development Secretary R C Bhutia told reporters.

The evacuation operation by air from north Sikkim will resume as soon as the weather improves, he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)