sikkim flash floods latest – Artifex.News https://artifexnews.net Stay Connected. Stay Informed. Sat, 07 Oct 2023 02:13:53 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.5 https://artifexnews.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/cropped-Artifex-Round-32x32.png sikkim flash floods latest – Artifex.News https://artifexnews.net 32 32 Sikkim Flash Floods, Teesta River: 53 Killed In Sikkim Floods, 27 Bodies Found In Teesta River: 10 Points https://artifexnews.net/sikkim-flash-floods-teesta-river-53-killed-in-sikkim-floods-27-bodies-found-in-teesta-river-10-points-4458241rand29/ Sat, 07 Oct 2023 02:13:53 +0000 https://artifexnews.net/sikkim-flash-floods-teesta-river-53-killed-in-sikkim-floods-27-bodies-found-in-teesta-river-10-points-4458241rand29/ Read More “Sikkim Flash Floods, Teesta River: 53 Killed In Sikkim Floods, 27 Bodies Found In Teesta River: 10 Points” »

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Rescue workers have saved 2,413 people so far, but 6,875 people remain displaced.

New Delhi:
At least 53 people, including seven soldiers, have died in the Sikkim flash floods, with 27 more dead bodies found in the Teesta river bed in neighbouring West Bengal over the last three days. Seven of these bodies have been identified.

Here are 10 points on this big story:

  1. Over 140 people are still missing, and thousands have been displaced. The Sikkim government has reported that 1,173 houses have been severely damaged and 2,413 people have been rescued. All bridges downstream to the Teesta-V hydropower station have been submerged or washed out, disrupting communication to North Sikkim.

  2. Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang chaired a high-level meeting yesterday to chalk out rescue, relief, and restoration strategies. Priority has been given to opening the road connectivity up to Chungthang, while the road from Naga to Toong will be constructed subject to the availability of land as soon as possible. Compensation of Rs 4 lakh has been announced for the families of those who have been killed.

  3. Sikkim authorities are prioritising reopening road connectivity to Chungthang and building the road from Naga to Toong subject to land availability. Throughout the day, officers from different departments met with the Chief Secretary to update him on the status of road connectivity, relief and rehabilitation, and rescue operations.

  4. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted light to moderate rainfall in most places in Mangan district over the next five days, with generally cloudy to overcast skies in Lachen and Lachung. This makes airlifting over 3,000 stranded tourists challenging.

  5. The Indian Air Force (IAF) has reported that multiple attempts to carry out rescue and relief operations with Mi-17 helicopters have been unsuccessful for the past two days due to bad weather, low cloud cover, and low visibility in the Lachen and Lachung valleys. The aerial rescue operations are expected to resume early morning today if the weather permits.

  6. Flash floods cloudburst have ravaged the northeastern state, affecting over 25,000 people, damaging nearly 1,200 homes, and destroying 13 bridges. Rescue workers have saved 2,413 people so far, but 6,875 people remain displaced and are sheltering in 22 relief camps across the state, which is largely cut off from the rest of the country.

  7. A glacial lake burst triggered flash floods and released water from Chungthang Dam, drastically increasing the water level of the Teesta River on Wednesday morning, causing widespread devastation in the picturesque Himalayan state.

  8. “Road connectivity between the districts has been cut off and bridges have been washed away. Communication in North Sikkim has been severely affected,” Chief Minister Tamang said, blaming “inferior construction” by previous state governments for the destruction of the Chungthang Dam.

  9. On Friday, NDTV learnt that a Parliamentary Committee had flagged a severe shortage of meteorological and monitoring stations in the Himalayan regions. On March 29, Sikkim was told in Parliament that it has 694 glacial lakes and eight flood forecasting stations, three for water levels and five for inflows.

  10. Home Minister Amit Shah has approved the release of Rs 44.8 crore in advance from the central share of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to provide relief to people affected by the floods. The Home Ministry has also formed an Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) to visit the affected areas and assess the damage.



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]]> Sikkim Chief Minister To NDTV https://artifexnews.net/disaster-due-to-sub-standard-dam-construction-sikkim-chief-minister-to-ndtv-4455433rand29/ Fri, 06 Oct 2023 07:16:10 +0000 https://artifexnews.net/disaster-due-to-sub-standard-dam-construction-sikkim-chief-minister-to-ndtv-4455433rand29/ Read More “Sikkim Chief Minister To NDTV” »

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The flash floods in Sikkim have been declared a major disaster.

Sikkim:

Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang has blamed “inferior construction” by the previous state government for the destruction of the Chungthang Dam – a 1200 MW hydroelectric project washed away Wednesday in flash floods triggered by a glacial lake outburst over South Lhonak Lake. Mr Tamang told NDTV “sub-standard” work by the earlier Sikkim Democratic Front government, which was in power for over 24 years, is to blame for a tragedy that has claimed 19 lives so far.

“Dam is fully damaged… washed out. Disaster in the lower belt is because of this. Yes… there was a cloudburst and the Lhonak Lake burst… but, because of inferior and sub-standard construction by previous government, the dam broke and even more floods hit Lower Sikkim with violence,” he said.

The Chief Minister also said “major damage” had been reported from across the state.

“Major damage in areas like the Chunthang Dam but do not know full extent because areas in Lower Sikkim are still cut-off. Roads have been washed out, bridges destroyed. 13 bridges over Teesta have been washed away,” Mr Tamang explained.

READ |A Decade Before Sikkim Flash Floods, There Were Warnings

He said his government is working with the centre to airlift relief and rescue teams but bad weather had hampered operations on Thursday. “Today weather has improved, so we will step up efforts.”

“First priority are 3,000 stranded tourists,” Mr Tamang said, “We will rescue them first.”

READ |19 Dead, 3,000 Stranded In Sikkim, Fresh Alert Issued: 10 Points

On rebuilding efforts, the Chief Minister said, “We will set up a team of technical experts and proceed based on their inputs. But, I have to tell you, this is a major disaster. It is major.”

Mr Tamang said he had spoken to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and that they had offered all possible support. Shortly after the disaster the Prime Minister posted on X (formerly Twitter), “Spoke to Sikkim CM… Assured all possible support… pray for safety and well-being of all those affected.”

At least 19 people, including seven soldiers, died in the floods that ravaged Sikkim early Wednesday, sweeping away farms and villages. More than 100 people, including 15 Army personnel, are still missing. So far around 2,500 people have been evacuated and nearly 6,000 shifted to relief camps.

READ | ISRO’s Satellite Images Show How Sikkim’s Lhonak Lake Burst, Caused Floods

The Sikkim government has warned of another potential glacial lake outburst; Shako Cho Lake near Lachen is at risk and authorities have begun evacuating residents from surrounding areas.

READ |Mortar Shell Carried By Floodwaters Explodes In Bengal’s Jalpaiguri, 2 Dead

The government has also warned of “stray explosions” after the floods hit an Army ammunitions depot. Two people have already died after they were hit by explosives that were washed away.

NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.



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