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.

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New Delhi:
At least 19 people, including six soldiers, have died in the Sikkim flash floods, and 103 people, including 16 soldiers, remain missing. Over 3,000 tourists are stranded, 2,500 people have been evacuated and 6,000 have been moved to relief camp.

Here are 10 points on this big story:

New Delhi:

Nearly 65 per cent of Sikkim’s Lhonak Lake – around 105 hectares – has been drained after a cloudburst forced the water body to overflow and trigger flash floods in the Teesta River.

Temporal satellite images (referring to before-and-after) released Wednesday evening by space agency ISRO show dramatic changes in the volume of water in the lake; photos taken on September 17 and September 28 show the bullet-shaped lake holding 162.7 and 167.4 hectares, respectively.

An image taken at 6 AM Wednesday morning – after the cloudburst and flash flood wreaked havoc in the state, washing away large parts of a hydroelectric project and leaving 49 people missing – shows the lake reduced by more than half and with only an estimated 60.3 hectares of water in it.

READ | Cloudburst In Sikkim Triggers Flash Floods, Soldiers Among Missing

“Temporal changes in the lake area – as on September 17, September 28, and October 4. It is observed the lake is burst and about 105 hectares has been drained out, which might have created a flash flood downstream… will continue monitoring the lake using the satellite data,” ISRO said.

The floods have killed at least eight people, news agency PTI said citing unnamed officials who also said three bodies were found hundreds of kilometres downstream in north Bengal. The other five were found in the state’s Golitar and Singtam areas, Gangtok district officer Mahendra Chettri said.

23 soldiers are among those missing. The Army and local officials have launched a joint rescue op.

45 people have been rescued, of whom 18 have suffered injuries, PTI reported.

There was heavy rainfall in Sikkim overnight; the weather department said the northern part of the state, where the lake is, received nearly 50 mm from Sunday – 48 per cent more than normal.

READ | Parts Of Teesta River Dam Washed Away After Cloudburst In Sikkim

Other parts of the state received even more rain; eastern areas saw 315 per cent unseasonal rainfall while South Sikkim got a massive 943 per cent more. West Sikkim got 50 per cent extra rain.

The cloudburst over Lhonak Lake not only caused that to overflow but also pushed up water levels in the Teesta, which flows through Sikkim and Bengal before entering Bangladesh.

The overflowing Teesta also swept away parts of a dam at Chungthang, which is the state’s largest hydropower project. The Army said the level of water flowing through the dam led to a sudden increase of 15-20 feet downstream.

Visuals also showed catastrophic floods in North Sikkim’s Mangan district.

A steel bridge at Singtam, which is 30 km from Gangtok, was completely destroyed.

Sections of National Highway 10 were washed away and several other roads were damaged, making access to Gangtok, Pakyong, Namchi, Gyalshing, Soreng and Mangan districts extremely difficult.

Residents in low-lying areas of Chungthang and Singtam have been evacuated.

“Nobody has been injured but there is significant damage to public property. Relief operations are on,” Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang said during a visit to affected areas.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he had spoken to the Chief Minister Tamang and assured him of support.