Sikkim: Before cloudburst over Lhonak Lake, early warning system was in works
1 year, 2 months ago

Sikkim: Before cloudburst over Lhonak Lake, early warning system was in works

Live Mint  

Two days after the cloudburst over Lhonak Lake in North Sikkim triggered a flash flood in the Teesta river basin, killing almost 40 people, reports arrived that scientists and government authorities were working on developing an early warning system to mitigate glacial flood risks at Lhonak Lake. Meanwhile, authorities claim that a camera to monitor Lhonak Lake's level and weather instruments was installed in September as the first part of the early warning system for glacial floods. According to simulations carried out by scientists during planning for an early warning system at Lhonak Lake, authorities and residents would have had a warning time of 90 minutes. The Indian government was planning to begin the first early warning systems for glacial floods at Lhonak Lake and another at nearby Shako Cho in Sikkim, before expanding to other dangerous lakes, added the report citing government sources.

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History of this topic

Satellites keep a check on Sikkim’s glacial lakes as heavy rainfall batters state
6 months, 1 week ago

Satellites keep a check on Sikkim’s glacial lakes as heavy rainfall batters state

Hindustan Times  

The Sikkim government is taking assistance of Indian remote sensing agencies and satellite imageries to keep a watch over vulnerable glacial lakes, to avert any kind of rerun of the 2023-disaster, even as heavy rainfall continues to affect the high-altitude regions of the Himalayan state in eastern India. “We are taking the help of satellite imageries to keep a watch …

Mitigating tragedies in the Himalayan region
1 year, 1 month ago

Mitigating tragedies in the Himalayan region

The Hindu  

The recent glacial lake outburst flood in Sikkim wreaked havoc along the Teesta river, bringing into focus the magnifying risk of climate change-induced GLOF across the Indian Himalayan Region. In mountains, hazards often occur in a cascading fashion — heavy rainfall triggers a landslide, which may in turn cause a glacial lake outburst and more landslides downstream, and create conditions …

Sikkim dam collapse will not slow India’s hydropower plans: R.K. Singh
1 year, 2 months ago

Sikkim dam collapse will not slow India’s hydropower plans: R.K. Singh

The Hindu  

The glacier lake outburst that triggered a flood in Sikkim and destroyed the Chungthang dam will not slow India’s reliance on hydropower, R.K. Singh, Minister for Power and Renewable Energy, has said. The Chungthang dam, a key component of the 1,200 MW Sikkim Urja hydel power project, was destroyed along with several highways, villages, and towns in Sikkim. The quantity …

Sikkim’s Lhonak lake still at risk of GLOF, floods: Experts
1 year, 2 months ago

Sikkim’s Lhonak lake still at risk of GLOF, floods: Experts

Hindustan Times  

New Delhi: The risk of another glacier lake outburst flood downstream of South Lhonak lake in Sikkim is still real, glaciologists and expertswarned, recommending that the glacier should be monitored effectively. Experts warn about the risk of another glacier lake outburst flood downstream of South Lhonak lake in Sikkim. According to glaciologists at the Divecha Centre for Climate Change, Indian …

Early warning system for India's flooded glacial lake was delayed by a year
1 year, 2 months ago

Early warning system for India's flooded glacial lake was delayed by a year

The Hindu  

An early warning system for glacial floods was due to have been installed in the Indian Himalayas last year, but work on the project only began in September, officials said, too late to raise the alarm before last week's floods that killed dozens. Reuters first reported that scientists were working on an early warning system at Lhonak Lake in the …

Sikkim flood was a matter of time despite uncertainties, scientists knew
1 year, 2 months ago

Sikkim flood was a matter of time despite uncertainties, scientists knew

The Hindu  

The Teesta basin in the Sikkim Himalaya is home to several glacial lakes in the high-altitude, glacier-covered terrain. The low-pressure area near the region further increased the moisture, a conducive environment for torrential rains.” An expected disaster As it happens, scientists had anticipated the Sikkim disaster as early as 2021, when, in a study published in the journal Geomorphology, they …

What caused the flood in Sikkim? | Explained
1 year, 2 months ago

What caused the flood in Sikkim? | Explained

The Hindu  

The story so far: More than 25 people have been confirmed dead, and many more are missing from a massive flood that resulted from a glacier-lake outburst in Sikkim in the early hours of October 4. “There was heavy rain in south Sikkim but nothing remarkable in the northern region,” M. Mohapatra, Director General, India Meteorological Department told The Hindu. …

Sikkim floods: Heavy rain continues, rescuers struggle to reach flood-hit areas
1 year, 2 months ago

Sikkim floods: Heavy rain continues, rescuers struggle to reach flood-hit areas

Live Mint  

Sikkim floods: Indian rescue teams are finding it difficult to reach flood-hit areas in the north-eastern state of Sikkim where more than 140 people are missing because the region is still experiencing bouts of heavy rain, said officials on Saturday. VB Pathak, the state's chief secretary said, “We are waiting for weather conditions to improve as only then Air Force …

Monsoon extremes; retreating glaciers led to Sikkim disaster, say experts
1 year, 2 months ago

Monsoon extremes; retreating glaciers led to Sikkim disaster, say experts

Hindustan Times  

A combination of extreme rain in the northeast, retreating glaciers and poorly planned hydropower projects led to the current crisis in Sikkim, where a glacial lake outburst flood left at least four districts inundated and buried large swathes of land under silt and debris. On September 30, HT reported that monsoon 2023 has been a story of swings, and as …

Sikkim flood | Centre approves relief worth ₹44.8 crore for flood-hit State
1 year, 2 months ago

Sikkim flood | Centre approves relief worth ₹44.8 crore for flood-hit State

The Hindu  

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has approved release of both installments of Central share of State Disaster Response Fund to Sikkim, amounting to ₹44.80 crore in advance, for the year 2023-24, to help the State in providing relief measures to people affected by the flash floods in the State. The toll in the flash flood in Sikkim mounted to 21 …

Sikkim flash floods: Death toll rises to 19; schools, colleges shut till 15 Oct
1 year, 2 months ago

Sikkim flash floods: Death toll rises to 19; schools, colleges shut till 15 Oct

Live Mint  

Sikkim Flash Floods: A cloud burst over Lhonak Lake in North Sikkim resulted in a flash flood in the Teesta River in Lachen Valley on 4 October. Sikkim Chief Secretary Vijay Bhushan Pathak told news agency ANI that around 3000 people are stranded in Lachen and Lachung, 700-800 drivers are stuck. A relief camp has been set up for people …

Sikkim flash floods death toll mounts to 14; 102 people, including 22 Army personnel, still missing
1 year, 2 months ago

Sikkim flash floods death toll mounts to 14; 102 people, including 22 Army personnel, still missing

The Hindu  

The confirmed death toll from the flash floods in Sikkim rose to 14 on Thursday with 102 people, including 22 Army personnel, still missing after the glacier-fed Lhonak lake in north Sikkim triggered a flash flood in the Teesta river basin on October 4. The floods have severely damaged the Chungthang dam that is the mainstay of a key hydropower …

Sikkim flash floods updates | Schools, colleges to remain shut till Oct 15 as toll rises to 14, over 100 missing
1 year, 2 months ago

Sikkim flash floods updates | Schools, colleges to remain shut till Oct 15 as toll rises to 14, over 100 missing

The Hindu  

The confirmed death toll from the flash floods in Sikkim rose to 14 on Thursday with 102 people, including 22 Army personnel, still missing after the glacier-fed Lhonak lake in north Sikkim triggered a flash flood in the Teesta river basin on October 4. The floods have severely damaged the Chungthang dam that is the mainstay of a key hydropower …

Ignored red flags triggered flash floods in Sikkim
1 year, 2 months ago

Ignored red flags triggered flash floods in Sikkim

Live Mint  

Multiple government agencies and scientific expeditions red-flagged the vulnerability of Lhonak Lake in North Sikkim to a glacial lake outburst flood for at least a last decade, documents accessed by HT show. A report compiled by the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority in 2019 notes that in 2013, scientists from the National Remote Sensing Centre in Hyderabad reported that the …

At least seven dead as glacial lake bursts in Sikkim
1 year, 2 months ago

At least seven dead as glacial lake bursts in Sikkim

The Hindu  

At least seven people have died and scores more were injured or missing after flash floods inundated Sikkim on October 4. “More than 8,000 cubic metres per second of water has been released from Teesta barrage which has resulted in flood-like situations in the downstream districts of Kalimpong, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar,” a press statement from the West Bengal …

Sikkim flood | 23 Army personnel missing; search operations underway
1 year, 2 months ago

Sikkim flood | 23 Army personnel missing; search operations underway

The Hindu  

23 Army personnel are missing at Bardang near Singtam after a flash flood in the Teesta river in Lachen valley caused due to sudden cloud burst over Lhonak Lake in north Sikkim, according to the Defence spokesperson Guwahati. “Due to sudden cloud burst over Lhonak Lake in North Sikkim, a flash flood occurred in the Teesta River in Lachen valley …

Warning System, Glacier Studies: Glaciologists Suggest Ways to Address Uttarakhand-like Tragedies
3 years, 10 months ago

Warning System, Glacier Studies: Glaciologists Suggest Ways to Address Uttarakhand-like Tragedies

News 18  

While the investigation is ongoing to ascertain the cause of flash flood in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, it is being suspected that either an avalanche or a glacier lake outburst flood was responsible for it. This warming has led to a significant melting and decline in glacier mass over the Himalayan region in recent decades.” Despite the rapid modification in glacial …

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