SIKKIM, India – At least 18 people were killed and nearly 100 are still missing, including 23 members of the military, after heavy rains triggered a dam break in the Himalayas of northern India, according to local media and official statements.
“Cloud burst induced water surge around Lhonak area led to flash floods in the low-lying areas of Teesta basin causing rise of water levels with very high velocities downstream with the States of Sikkim and West Bengal in the early hours of 4th October 2023,” the Chief Secretary of the Government of Sikkim said in a statement.
“This has caused extensive damages to life and property including the breakdown of road networks and communication,” the statement continued.
An official told Reuters that 14 bridges were washed away, which has slowed search, recovery and aid delivery in the region. Continued rain in lower elevations and snow in higher elevations is also hampering rescue efforts. Air rescue and surveillance have been grounded. At least 2,500 tourists are trapped.
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The director of the state’s Disaster Management Authority called the situation, “slightly grim.”
India’s weather department stated that the area has received 4 inches of rain since Oct. 1 – more than twice the average amount. Officials told Reuters that the flooding was worse than the October 1968 flooding, which killed 1,000 people.
A glacier atop the third-highest peak in the world also feeds Lhonak Lake. The lake sits at 17,000 feet. Officials said in a statement that the first surge of water along the river that flows from the lake was 62 feet above the maximum water level at one measurement site at 1:30 a.m. local time. An official told Wion News that the torrent rushed at 50 feet per second or 34 mph down river and was past a measuring site where it was recorded at 15 feet higher than the danger level.
The authority stated that more than half the lake has drained, evidenced by satellite images.
Wion reported that the dam from the largest hydropower project in the state failed, resulting in a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF).
The state opened 18 relief camps for the 22,000 residents impacted. Neighboring Bangladesh is also watching for flooding from upriver.
The flood rushed through towns in the early morning. One social media post said, “The water washed people away in their beds.”
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The flash flood covered the first floors of some buildings in silt. The force collapsed homes and compromised the integrity of the ones left standing. Cars were swamped and washed away. The state is cutoff from the rest of India because the main highway collapsed.
A similar GLOF in 2013 killed thousands in a nearby state in India.
Alaska was recently hit by a GLOF.
A study in the journal Nature Communications found that 15 million people worldwide are in danger from this type of flooding.