Sikkim flash flood toll rises to 37: SSDMA

Gangtok: The toll in the Sikkim flash flood has increased to 37, while 78 people are missing six days after a cloudburst on a glacier lake, according to the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority (SSDMA) on Wednesday.

Pakyong district accounted for the maximum number of fatalities at 24, including ten army personnel, followed by seven in Gangtok, four in Mangan and two in Namchi districts, it said.

Another 78 people are still missing as several towns in the Teesta river basin across four districts were flooded after the cloudburst in Mangan district which triggered the upsurge in the river, the SSDMA said.

A total 6001 people have been either rescued or evacuated from the flood-affected areas and the number of injured persons stood at 30, it said.

The number of people affected by the flash floods stood at 87,300.

A total 3773 people were rendered homeless by the flash flood and were provided shelter in 24 relief camps in the four districts, the SSDMA said.

As many as 3646 pucca and kuccha houses were either totally, severely or partially damaged in the calamity that affected 90 villages/wards/nagar panchayat/councils, it said.

The road network of the state was disrupted as 16 bridges, nine in the heavily-ravaged Mangan district alone, in the downstream to the Teesta-V hydropower station were either submerged by the gushing waters of the river or were washed out, it added.