Guwahati (India)
At least 42 people died and thousands were left homeless in northeast India after floods caused by the overflow of a glacial lake, according to a report released on Friday (6) by the country’s authorities. According to the government, the number of victims could rise as around 150 residents of the region are missing.
Lhonak Lake, located at the foot of a glacier near Kangchenjunga, the world’s third highest mountain, overflowed its banks on Wednesday (4), causing floods that engulfed valleys and destroyed homes and vehicles. Deaths were recorded in the states of Sikkim and West Bengal.
Indian authorities released details of the incident only this Thursday (5), a day after the incident. Since then, the number of victims has increased with every update. Dozens of military personnel and rescuers are taking part in search and rescue operations in the most affected regions.
Nearly 8,000 people, many of whom lost their homes, were moved to makeshift camps in schools, public offices and dormitories. Among the dead were six Indian Army soldiers serving in the state of Sikkim, near the border with Nepal and China.
According to the Bundeswehr, rescuers had saved around 1,500 trapped tourists by this Friday. Weather conditions have improved in recent hours and authorities said there may be an opportunity to evacuate more stranded people by helicopter.
Military aircraft are still being used to transport food and medicine to the most affected communities. “We are doing everything possible to get relief supplies to the people and also restore infrastructure,” said VB Pathak, a government official in Sikkim.
After the lake overflowed, a torrent of water rushed down the valley, increasing the flow of a river that had already overflowed its banks due to heavy rains. The floods damaged a dam and also destroyed buildings, bridges and telephone lines, making it difficult to evacuate the population and communicate with thousands of isolated people.
Roads were “severely” damaged and 14 bridges were destroyed, which authorities said was also making access to the affected regions difficult. In view of the crisis, Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to provide “all possible support” to those affected and announced the release of public funds for reconstruction.
Analysts say the lake, located in the Himalayan mountains, has lost almost twothirds of its size after overflowing, equivalent to the area of 150 football fields. The figures were calculated based on satellite images released by the Indian Space Research Organization. In total, the damage extends over more than 120 kilometers.
According to a report released in June by the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Himalayan glaciers melted 65% faster between 2011 and 2020 than in the previous decade.
“The main cause is climate change and the situation will get worse,” Arun Bhata Shrestha, climate change expert at ICIMOD, told AFP. “Even the most modest scenario shows this […] Glacial lake flooding will become much more common.”
The average temperature on Earth’s surface has risen nearly 1.2°C compared to the preindustrial era, with warming mountainous regions hit hardest, according to climatologists.
Millions of people around the world have suffered from the effects of extreme weather events and prolonged heatwaves in recent weeks. The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) has already stated that it is now clear that some of these changes are caused by human activity.
Data from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the UN climate agency, shows that extreme weather events such as droughts, floods, landslides, storms and fires have more than tripled over the past 50 years as a result of global warming.
Asia was the most affected continent. During this period, more than 3,400 disasters occurred, claiming almost a million lives.