Death toll from floods in Indian Himalayas rises to 74, many missing


RANGPO, India, Oct 9 (Reuters) – The death toll from flash floods after a glacial lake burst its banks in India’s Himalayas rose to 74 on Monday, with 101 people still missing after the disaster, provincial officials said. According to authorities.

After several days of torrential rain in the northeastern state of Sikkim, storm water overflowed narrow river valleys from Lohnak Lake, damaging a dam and about 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of the state capital Gangtok. Wreaked havoc in villages and Rangpo town.

Sikkim Chief Secretary Vijay Bhushan Pathak, the most senior bureaucrat, told Reuters that rescuers had recovered 25 bodies in the state and eight army personnel washed up in the neighboring state of West Bengal.

He said 101 people are still missing in the latest series of natural calamities in the Himalayas due to severe weather events. A statement from the Ministry of Defense said that fourteen army personnel are also among the missing.

Destroyed roads, poor communications and bad weather have hampered the search for survivors, and residents have to clear mud and debris from one of the worst disasters to hit the remote region in more than 50 years. were struggling to do.

West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district chief Parveen Shama said 41 bodies were found in the district.

Sikkim, a Buddhist state of 650,000 people in the mountains between Nepal, Bhutan and China, received 101 millimeters (four inches) of rain in the first five days of October, double the normal level.

A view of damaged vehicles after floods from a burst lake in Sangtam, Sikkim, India, October 8, 2023. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas Acquire Licensing Rights

In October 1968, an estimated 1,000 people died in floods in Sikkim.

Mukesh Kumar, a 43-year-old migrant worker in Rangpo, told how it took him and his neighbors barely 10 minutes to escape before being swept away by the floodwaters.

“If we hadn’t left for two more minutes, we might have drowned,” Kumar said, staring at the mud and debris covering his living quarters.

Many people whose residences were on the ground floor could not survive, residents told Reuters.

Biju Sharma, 45, who ran a furniture business, surveyed the aftermath of the disaster.

“Where you are standing is 15 feet (4.5 m) higher than before. You are standing on his house,” Sharma said, pointing to his neighbor.

About 2,000 tourists stranded in the cut-off areas of north Sikkim are reported to be safe, and state officials and the army have provided them with food and communication facilities to contact their families, government officials said.

Additional reporting by Subrata Nag Chaudhary in Kolkata; Written by Mayank Bhardwaj and YP Rajesh; Edited by Simon Cameron Moore

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Krishna reports on politics and strategic affairs from the Indian subcontinent. He previously worked at the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, an international investigative consortium. Indian Express; And Karwan magazine writes on defence, politics, law, party, media, elections and investigative projects. A graduate of Columbia University’s School of Journalism, Krishna has won numerous awards for his work. Contact: +918527322283

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