New Delhi: A cloudburst over Lhonak Lake in North Sikkim on Wednesday caused a flash flood in the Teesta river basin, affecting more than 22,000 people and leaving 14 dead and 102 missing, including 22 army personnel, news agency PTI quoted officials as saying on Thursday. The Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority (SSDMA) said that 2,011 people have been rescued so far and 26 relief camps have been set up in the four affected districts. The state government is providing all necessary assistance and relief to the affected people, it said.
Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang visited Singtam, one of the worst affected areas, and reviewed the situation. He also held an emergency meeting at the Singtam Community Centre and urged the people to stay alert and take shelter in safe locations.
He informed that he had spoken to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the phone and sought necessary support from the Centre, especially for areas that need immediate intervention. The PM assured him of all possible help to the state, he said.
The cloudburst in Lhonak Lake resulted in a huge accumulation of water, which breached the Chungthang dam and destroyed the power infrastructure before flowing downstream in spate, flooding towns and villages.
The flood damaged 11 bridges, 277 houses, water pipelines and sewage lines in the state. Chungthang town was severely affected with 80 per cent of it submerged under water. The NH-10, the lifeline of the state, also sustained extensive damage at several places.
According to the SSDMA, seven people died in Pakyong district, four in Mangan and three in Gangtok. Among the 102 missing people, 59 are from Pakyong, including the army personnel. Twenty-two are missing in Gangtok, 16 in Mangan and five in Namchi. A total of 26 people were injured in the flood.
The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) was helping the state in the rescue operations in Chungthang and Mangan, where four critical bridges were damaged. Defence spokesperson Lt Col Mahendra Rawat said that more than 200 people were moved to safer areas by the BRO despite continuous heavy rainfall and extremely bad weather.
He also said that search and rescue operations for the missing army personnel were still on at Burdang near Singtam. He added that the families of the missing persons have been informed of the situation.
