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06-10-2023
NEW DELHI/ SIKKIM: A search and rescue operation has been launched for more than 100 missing people in India’s northeast after flash floods ripped through the Himalayan state of Sikkim Wednesday, killing at least 14 people and washing away roads and bridges, according to the state government.
Known as the rooftop of the world, the ecologically-sensitive Himalayan region is prone to flash floods and landslides and flooding is not unusual in Sikkim but scientists are clear that extreme weather is becoming more frequent and more intense as the human-caused climate crisis accelerates.
A “sudden cloudburst” over Lhonak Lake, in the northern part of the state, sent fast-moving torrents of water surging down the Teesta River in Sikkim’s Lachen valley, raising water levels 15-20 feet higher than normal, the Indian Army said in a statement. A cloudburst is a very sudden and destructive rainstorm.
Video from the north of the state shows the muddy deluge rapidly overflowing the river and flooded houses caked in dirt and debris, while images show search teams using excavators to uncover army vehicles buried deep in the mud.
As search efforts continued Wednesday, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) released dramatic images showing the volume of water which had been released from Lhonak Lake following the cloudburst.
Lhonak Lake is a large glacial bullet-shaped water body that sits at the foot of a melting glacier.
An analysis of the images shows more than 60% of the water held in the lake drained out after the extreme rainstorm triggered a glacial lake outburst. This phenomenon happens when a glacial lake rises too high or the surrounding land or ice gives way and the lake bursts, sending water and debris rushing down mountains.
One satellite image shows the lake holding about 167.4 hectares of water on September 28, while another dated October 4 shows the lake reduced by more than half holding approximately 60.3 hectares of water in it.
“It is observed that lake is burst and about 105 hectares area has been drained out … which might have created a flash flood downstream (in the Teesta River),” ISRO said in text accompanying the images.
Scientists have long studied Lhonak Lake, identifying it as one of the fastest swelling glacial lakes in the region with a high risk for a potential glacial outburst, according to multiple studies. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
