Tragic Scene in Singtam, Gangtok District: Cloudburst-Triggered Flash Flood Claims 14 Lives, Leaves 102, Including 22 Army Personnel, Missing on October 4, 2023 ( Photo Credit: PTI)
More Than 3,000 Tourists Feared Stranded Across Various Regions of Sikkim
“On October 4, a cloudburst over Lhonak Lake in north Sikkim led to a tragic toll, claiming the lives of at least fourteen individuals, with 102 others, including 22 army personnel, reported missing. The aftermath saw not only the loss of lives but also the breach of the Chungthang dam, the State’s largest hydropower project.”
The National Remote Sensing Centre, one of the ISRO centres, has conducted a satellite-based study on the outburst of the South Lhonak lake in Sikkim by obtaining temporal satellite images (before & after) over the water body. “It is observed that Lake is Burst and about 105 hectares area has been drained out (28 September 2023 image versus 04 October 2023) which might have created a flash flood downstream,” an ISRO statement said on Wednesday.
The National Disaster Management Authority on Wednesday said the possible cause of the flash flood in Sikkim could be a combination of excess rainfall and a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) event at South Lhonak lake in North Sikkim.
