At least 23 soldiers are missing after powerful flash floods swept through a Himalayan valley in northeastern India, the army said Wednesday.
“Due to sudden rainfall at Lhonak Lake in northern Sikkim state, flash floods occurred on the Tista River (…) 23 soldiers are missing” and vehicles were submerged, said the armed forces in a press release.
“Research is underway,” they said.
This remote, mountainous region of the Himalayas lies near India’s border with Nepal. Lake Lhonak is located at the foot of a glacier near Kangchenjunga, the third highest peak in the world.
Due to an upstream dam that had previously released water, the level of the Tista River was 4.5 meters higher than normal, the Indian Army said.
A video released by an army spokesperson shows a violent brown torrent pouring into a valley planted with forests, passing over roads and carrying away power lines in its path.
In other images shared by the army we see buildings submerged up to the first floor in a city with the tip of a small construction crane emerging from the water.
Accelerated melting of glaciers
The state’s chief minister, Prem Singh Tamang, traveled to the town of Singtam, downstream from the disaster site, and was shown speaking with local officials under an umbrella, by the local media.
Floods and landslides are relatively frequent in India and cause a lot of damage, particularly during the monsoon period which lasts from June to September. But by October the bulk of the monsoon is usually over.
Experts say climate change is making these disasters more frequent and larger.
Melting glaciers also increase the volume of rivers, while unregulated construction in flood-prone areas can also worsen the damage.
Himalayan glaciers are melting faster than ever due to climate change, exposing residents to unpredictable disasters.
Glaciers melted at a rate 65% faster between 2011 and 2020, compared to the previous decade, according to a report published in June by the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).
Based on current emissions trajectories, glaciers could lose up to 80% of their current volume by the end of the century, according to the report.