Landslides kill nine amid heavy rainfall in North Sikkim

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

rainfall triggered massive landslides across North Sikkim.

The toll in the state from the recent spate of rainfall and landslides is now nine, with three deaths reported on Monday.

Around 1,500 tourists are stranded in tourism hotspots like Lachung, Yumthang and Dikchu. Vast areas of Mangan district, which covers the whole of north Sikkim, are.

West Bengal has restricted the movement on National highway 10 due to flash floods.

It’s been raining continuously for 36 hours. The road to north Sikkim has been damaged in multiple locations, snapping connections to the district,” Hem Kumar Chettri, district magistrate of Mangan, said.

“The stranded tourists are all safe but we have not been able to evacuate them because of the damage,” the DM said, adding that 11 of them were foreign nationals.

Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang asked the administration, police and officials of various departments to ensure swift assistance and response to the devastation.
At least 179 people died last year in Sikkim when a Himalayan glacial lake outburst triggered floods. Last year’s flash floods in the Teesta, triggered by a glacial lake burst in north Sikkim, had left roads and bridges extensively damaged across the mountain state.