A devastating glacial lake burst triggered a torrential flash flood in Sikkim on Oct. 4. Scientists have repeatedly warned that climate changes are taking place in the Himalayan glaciers and glacial lakes. (Photo: AFP)
Church workers in India have joined the rehabilitation efforts in northeastern Sikkim state, where floods have claimed 40 lives while 76 are still missing.
“Our volunteers are actively involved in restoring the houses of flood-hit victims who now live in either relief camps or other temporary accommodations,” said Father Alex Gurung, public relations officer of the sole diocese of Darjeeling in Sikkim.
The volunteers are restoring the mud-filled houses to their original shape to help the return of people to their homes from relief camps, Father Gurung added.
The flood has destroyed 2,002 houses and 1,852 people are staying in 19 relief camps, according to the state government.
On Oct. 4, a sudden cloudburst over the Lhonak Lake in Sikkim led to flash floods in low-lying areas of the Teesta river basin in the state, bordering Tibet in China and the Himalayan nation of Nepal.
The Chungthang dam, the largest hydropower project in the state, suffered serious damage, further contributing to the massive impact of the Himalayan glacial lake outburst.
The diocese is providing food, clothes, water and emergency medicines to the people in relief camps, Father Gurung told UCA News on Oct. 18.
The efforts are on to provide more help through Caritas, the papal charity, the priest added.
The current death toll and the number of missing persons are “based on the information local people have given to the government, but nobody knows the exact number,” a Catholic volunteer, who sought anonymity, told UCA News.
Another volunteer said the number could be higher as there “is no proper record of migrant workers engaged in construction sites on the banks of the Teesta river.”
Our nearly 100 volunteers from different parishes are actively involved, said Mahindra Gurung, general secretary of the Sikhim Catholic Association.
The state government has deployed helicopters to airlift stranded people as the flood washed away 33 bridges and major roads, cutting off several villages from the mainstream.
The government has until Oct. 17 airlifted 2,705 persons, including 1876 tourists, stranded in different parts of the hilly state.
“We have completed the evacuation of all stranded tourists,” said a government official, who did not want to be named.
The government has attributed the possible cause of the flash floods to a combination of excess rainfall and a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF), a water-induced hazard that occurs when glaciers create reservoirs of water that can suddenly burst.
Scientists have repeatedly warned that climate changes are taking place in the Himalayan glaciers and glacial lakes.
