Cars lie submerged in water after flash floods triggered by a sudden heavy rainfall swamped the Rangpo town in Sikkim, India, Thursday, Oct.5. 2023. The flooding took place along the Teesta River in the Lachen Valley of the north-eastern state, and was worsened when parts of a dam were washed away. (AP Photo/Prakash Adhikari)
Rescue workers were searching for nearly 100 people on Thursday after flash floods triggered by sudden heavy rainfall swamped several towns in northeastern India, killing at least 18 people, officials said.
More than 2,000 people were rescued after Wednesday’s floods, the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority said in a statement, adding that state authorities set up 26 relief camps for more than 22,000 people impacted by the floods.
Eighteen bodies have been found so far, said Vinay Bhushan Pathak, the top state bureaucrat.
Twenty-six people have suffered injuries and were undergoing treatment at various hospitals across Sikkim, he said.
Among the missing were 22 soldiers, officials said. One soldier who had been reported missing on Wednesday was later rescued by authorities, the army said in a statement.
Some army camps and vehicles were submerged under mud following the floods, the army said.
Pathak said that nearly 3,000 tourists and 700 drivers with their vehicles have been stranded in the flood-hit areas.
“We are evacuating them through helicopters provided by the army and the air force,” he said.
The army is extending medical aid and phone connectivity to civilians and tourists stranded in the areas of Chungthang, Lachung and Lachen in north Sikkim, the army statement said.
Eleven bridges were washed away by the floodwaters, which also hit pipelines and damaged or destroyed more than 270 houses in four districts, officials said.
The flooding occurred along the Teesta River in the Lachen Valley in Sikkim state and was worsened when parts of a dam were washed away.
Several towns, including Dikchu and Rangpo in the Teesta basin, were flooded, and schools in four districts were ordered shut until Sunday, the state’s education department said.
Parts of a highway that links Sikkim, the state capital, with the rest of the country were washed away.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office said in a statement that the government would support state authorities in the aftermath of the flooding.
The flooding was caused by cloudbursts — sudden, very heavy rains — which are defined as when more than 10 centimeters (3.9 inches) of rainfall occurs within 10 square kilometers (3.8 square miles) within an hour. Cloudbursts can cause intense flooding and landslides affecting thousands of people.
The mountainous Himalayan region where Sikkim is located has seen heavy monsoon rains this season.
Nearly 50 people died in flash floods and landslides in August in nearby Himachal Pradesh state. Record rains in July killed more than 100 people over two weeks in northern India, as roads were waterlogged and homes collapsed.
