Search for 80 missing people continues a week after flash floods hit northeastern India

NEW DELHI

Efforts continued on Tuesday to find 80 people who went missing after flash floods triggered by a glacial lake bursting hit India’s northeastern state of Sikkim last week, with the death toll reaching 36, authorities said.

A statement issued by the state’s disaster management authority on Tuesday said that nearly 88,000 people were affected due to the floods and 3,268 have been evacuated so far. The statement said that over 2,500 people have been rescued.

In the neighboring West Bengal state, authorities have found more than 40 bodies and most of them remained unidentified, according to local officials.

Authorities have sped up the rescue operation in the state. The Sikkim government said that the evacuation process by air that began on Monday continued on Tuesday.

Army depot destroyed

During a virtual meeting of India’s National Crisis Management committee on Monday, VB Pathak, the state’s top official, said that the flooding has completely destroyed the army ammunition depot at the state’s Munshithang, “due to which the Teesta basin is filled with weapons, ammunition, and explosives, which endanger the public by making it difficult to clear debris and sludge, particularly adjacent to the riverbank dwellings.”

“To prevent any accident, the public has been warned to notify the local police if any ammunition or explosives are seen,” said a government statement.

Last week, India's National Disaster Management Authority said that the swelling floodwaters damaged infrastructure projects, including the Chungthang Dam, in the upper reaches of the river valley.

"While scientists are investigating the exact cause of the flash flood, the primary reason for the sudden surge appears to be a likely combination of excess rainfall and a GLOF (Glacial Lake Outburst Flood) event at South Lhonak Lake in North Sikkim," it said.

On Oct. 7, the Sikkim government, however, said: “There has been a detachment of the side wall (northwest side) of the lateral moraine (rocks and debris) of the South Lhonak Lake, as per the data available, the moraine eventually plunged into the lake.”

The detached moraine fell and pushed into the deepest portion of the lake resulting in overflow of large volume of water from the outlet, which has led to widening and deepening at the outlet of the lake, it said.