The Lhonak Lake burst its banks on Wednesday after a cloudburst triggered torrential rains and an apparent avalanche, causing major flooding in the Teesta River.

VB Pathak, the state’s chief secretary said, “We are waiting for weather conditions to improve as only then Air Force and other rescue teams could venture into the flood-hit areas.”

According to a government official overseeing rescue operations from Gangtok, the death toll has risen to 44 up by 2 from Friday, Reuters reported. 

The flash flood in the Teesta river, triggered by a cloudburst in Lhonak Lake, caused the accumulation of a huge quantity of water, which turned towards Chungthang dam, destroying the power infrastructure before moving downstream in spate, flooding towns and villages.

The flood, which was triggered by a cloudburst in the early hours of Wednesday, has affected over 25,000 people, damaged more than 1,200 houses, and washed away 13 bridges, bringing the picturesque Himalayan state to its knees.

Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang announced an ex-gratia of ₹4 lakh for the families of the deceased and an immediate relief of ₹2,000 each for all those taking shelter in the camps.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has approved the release of ₹44.8 crore as an advance amount from the central share of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to provide relief to the affected people.

The flood destroyed 13 bridges in the state, with eight bridges getting washed away in Mangan district alone. Three bridges were destroyed in Gangtok and two in Namchi.

The Indian government was planning to begin the first early warning systems for glacial floods at Lhonak Lake and another at nearby Shako Cho in Sikkim, before expanding to other dangerous lakes.

(With Reuters inputs)

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Updated: 08 Oct 2023, 06:42 AM IST