BREAKING: 23 Soldiers Missing After A Powerful Flash Flood Caused By Intense Rainfall – Army Speaks

BREAKING: 23 Soldiers Missing After A Powerful Flash Flood Caused By Intense Rainfall – Army Speaks

The Indian army has reported that 23 soldiers are missing following a devastating flash flood caused by intense rainfall in a remote valley of the mountainous northeastern state of Sikkim.

In an announcement on Wednesday, the army stated that the personnel and some vehicles were submerged by the flood.

“Due to a sudden cloud burst over Lhonak Lake in North Sikkim, a flash flood occurred in the Teesta River… 23 personnel have been reported missing and some vehicles are reported submerged under the slush. Search operations are underway,” the army stated.

This remote area lies near India’s border with Nepal, with Lhonak Lake located at the base of a glacier in the snowy peaks surrounding Kangchenjunga, the world’s third-highest mountain.

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The army mentioned that water released upstream from the Chungthang dam had already raised the river’s level by more than 4.5 meters (15 feet) above the usual.

A video released by an Indian army spokesperson depicted a powerful torrent of brown water rushing down a densely forested valley, with roads washed away and power lines torn down.

Flash floods are a common occurrence during the monsoon season, which typically starts in June and retreats from the Indian subcontinent by the end of September. By October, the heaviest monsoon rains have typically subsided.

Experts attribute the increasing frequency and severity of these incidents to climate change.

Additional photographs shared by the army showed water inundating the first floors of buildings and flowing down a street in a town, where only the tip of a small construction crane remained visible.

Local media featured Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang discussing floods in the town of Singtam, further downstream from where the missing soldiers were stationed, while holding an umbrella during a downpour.

The monsoon is a seasonal weather pattern driven by the summer heating of the subcontinent’s landmass. This causes the air to rise, drawing in cooler winds from the Indian Ocean, resulting in heavy rainfall.

However, it also brings destruction each year in the form of landslides and floods. Melting glaciers contribute to the increased volume of water, while unregulated construction in flood-prone areas exacerbates the damage.

Himalayan glaciers are melting at an accelerated rate due to climate change, leaving communities vulnerable to unpredictable and costly disasters.

A report from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in June warned that glaciers vanished 65 percent faster from 2011 to 2020 compared to the previous decade.

Based on current emissions trajectories, the report projected that glaciers could lose up to 80 percent of their current volume by the end of the century.

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