In a devastating natural calamity that unfolded in India’s northeastern region, the death toll has surged to 56, as of Saturday. The army has issued a dire public safety warning, underscoring the peril posed by munitions carried away in the deluge.
This catastrophic event was triggered by violent torrents striking Sikkim state on Wednesday, following the abrupt bursting of a high-altitude glacial lake. Alarmingly, climate scientists emphasize that the Himalayan region will increasingly face such dangers as global temperatures soar, leading to accelerated ice melt.
Relief commissioner Anilraj Rai conveyed, “So far, 26 bodies have been discovered in Sikkim.” Additionally, search and rescue teams operating downstream in the neighboring West Bengal state, specifically in the Teesta river basin, have recovered 30 more bodies. Superintendent K. Umesh Ganpat of Jalpaiguri district police noted, “The river stretches up to 86 kilometers, and the search operation is ongoing.”
Tragically, among the casualties are seven Indian army soldiers stationed in Sikkim, a region situated on India’s remote frontiers with Nepal and China, housing a substantial military presence. Furthermore, 16 soldiers remain among the over 100 individuals still missing. India’s defense ministry released a statement revealing that the floods had swept away “firearms and explosives” from military installations. Consequently, the ministry has initiated a comprehensive effort to recover loose ordnance, establishing lookout teams along the river.
Disturbingly, local media reports on Friday disclosed that a mortar shell exploded in the floodwaters of West Bengal, resulting in two fatalities and four injuries. This calamity has inflicted extensive damage on roads, bridges, and telephone lines, complicating evacuation and communication efforts for thousands cut off from the rest of the country.
According to the latest bulletin from the Sikkim government, over 1,200 houses have been damaged by the floods. Remarkably, more than 2,400 people have been successfully rescued, while nearly 7,000 others have sought refuge in makeshift relief camps set up in schools, government offices, and guesthouses.
The catastrophic water surge occurred following intense rainfall that breached the high-altitude Lhonak Lake, nestled at the base of a glacier in the vicinity of Kangchenjunga, the world’s third-highest mountain. This water influx compounded an already swollen river, courtesy of monsoon rains, leading to the destruction of a dam and the sweeping away of houses.
Alarming scientific data indicates that Himalayan glaciers are melting at an unprecedented rate, a consequence of climate change. This alarming trend exposes communities to unpredictable and economically burdensome disasters, as outlined by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) research group. Arun Bhakta Shrestha, an ICIMOD climate change specialist, emphasized, “The root cause is climate change, and this will only intensify in the future. Similar glacial lake outburst flood events are highly probable.”
The grim reality is that Earth’s average surface temperature has surged by nearly 1.2 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times, but high-mountain regions worldwide have experienced warming at double that pace, as underscored by climate scientists.
