Sikkim Floods: Six Dead amidst Severe Devastation from Heavy Rain and Landslides; 1,500 Torurists Stranded

Sikkim’s Mangan district witnessed the deaths of six individuals over the span of the last three days because of continuous rainfall. On Thursday, June 13, the Mangan district recieved over 220mm rainfall in just one day. This heavy downpour has led to several landslides including the collapse of the recently constructed Sangkalang Bridge. These landslides and floods have reportedly swept away hundreds of homes and multiple roads across the region. It has also resulted in cutting off of the towns of Jongu, Chungthang, Lachen and Lachung, which are popularly known for their tourist attractions like Gurudongmar Lake and Yumthang Valley from the rest of the country.

According to the recent reports on the current situation in the state of Sikkim, The disaster management team has stated that officials have been consistently working on the relief and rescue operations. However it has been noted that approximately 2000 tourists are still stranded in the Lachung and Chungthang areas of Sikkim. Due to the severe weather conditions, the officials asserted that helicopter rescues are also currently not feasible, leaving the tourists stuck in the area with no option other than to stay put until the conditions improve.

Additionally the Teesta River in Sikkim has also been overflowing, posing a serious threat to the lower areas of Singtan Town. A similar catastrophe had taken place a year ago in the Northern part of Sikkim where the bursting of a glacial lake had led to excessive flooding and had claimed over 100 lives.

The news of the floods in Sikkim comes amidst the relentless heatwave that has been persisting in the Northern states of India. The India metereorological department has also issued heatwave alert in the states including Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu, Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha. On Thursday, June 13, temperatures soared above 46 degrees Celsius in many areas of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The town of Buxar in Bihar recorded a blistering 47.2 degrees Celsius, making it the hottest place in the country. In regions like Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan, temperatures ranged from 44 to 47 degrees Celsius.

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The India Met Department (IMD) has also further predicted rainfall for the state of Sikkim on Friday, June 14. Besides Sikkim, the meteorological department also forcasted rainshowers in the in the Northeastern region of India in the states of West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam as well as Meghalaya, and warned of potential damage in these areas.

Record-Breaking Heatwave Days

According to the IMD, Odisha has experienced the most heatwave days, with 27 days recorded between March 1 and June 9. Rajasthan has seen 23 days, West Bengal 21 days, and Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh have each faced 20 days of extreme heat. Madhya Pradesh recorded 19 days, while Gujarat and Rajasthan each endured 17 days of heatwave conditions.

Despite an early onset in the southern states, the monsoon has weakened considerably. Madhavan Rajeevan, former Secretary of Earth Sciences, indicated that the monsoon is unlikely to advance rapidly over the next 8-10 days. The monsoon is expected to reach Bihar and Jharkhand between June 16-18, Uttar Pradesh between June 20-30, and Delhi around June 27.