- ANTARA/Reuters/Anuwar Hazarika
New Delhi – Heavy rains on Thursday caused a Himalayan glacial lake in India to overflow, causing deadly floods and left 18 people were killed and over 100 were missing, officials said.
The disaster, which has affected the lives of 22,000 people is the latest in a series of deadly weather events in South Asia's mountains blamed on climate change.
A cloudburst dropped a huge amount of rain over a short period on the Lhonak glacial lake on Wednesday, triggered flash floods down the Teesta valley, about 150 km (93 miles) north of Gangtok, capital of Sikkim state, near the border with China.
Silicon Valley India, Bangalore, terendam banjir.
- Kashif Masood/AP.
The state disaster management agency stated that 26 people were injured and 102 were missing, as of early Thursday. Eleven bridges were washed away.
The video footage showed flood waters surging into built-up areas where several houses collapsed, army bases and other facilities were damaged and vehicles submerged.
Moreover, the weather department has warned of landslides and disruption to flights as more rain is expected over the next two days in parts of Sikkim and neighboring states.
Other mountainous areas of India, as well as parts of neighboring Pakistan and Nepal have been hit by torrential rains, flooding and landslides in recent months, killing scores of people.
Ilustrasi banjir
- VIVA/M Ali Wafa
Last year, Pakistan blamed climate change for unprecedented floods caused by historic monsoon rains that washed away roads, crops, infrastructure and bridges, and killed at least 1,000 people.
The director general of the Nepal-based International Center for Integrated Mountain Development, Pema Gyamtsho said that this is the latest in a series of deadly flash floods that ricocheted across the Hindu Kush-Himalayan region this monsoon, bringing the reality of this region’s extreme vulnerability to climate change all too vividly alive.
Meanwhile, other mountainous regions of India, as well as neighboring Pakistan and Nepal have also been hit by heavy rains, floods and landslides in recent months, killing many people.
