Guwahati: Nearly 12,000 people residing along the Sankosh River in West Bengal’s Alipurduar district, downstream of Bhutan, were evacuated to safer places on Friday following a rise in the river’s water level caused by a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) in the neighbouring Himalayan country, a senior official said.
The emergency measure came a day after a glacial lake in Bhutan’s Gasa region overflowed its banks on Thursday evening. A huge volume of water carrying mud, rocks and debris then swept into river systems downstream, the official said.
The breach at Shintaphu Lake released close to 7.4 million cubic metres of water into Bhutan’s Mo River, pushing up the water level of the Sankosh, which forms part of the boundary between West Bengal and Assam.
The development led to flood warnings being issued in some areas of north Bengal and Assam. Authorities have since been monitoring the levels of rivers flowing downstream from Bhutan.
The official said the administration had moved 12,000 residents into safe shelters as a precaution, adding that conditions remained under control at the time.
The Sankosh had also risen by approximately two feet since Friday morning, he said.
Unlike the areas affected by the latest flood event, Sikkim remained unaffected. The state had suffered extensive destruction and significant loss of life during a similar glacial lake outburst flood in October 2023.
NDRF personnel are already stationed in the affected areas, while the State Disaster Response Force, Civil Defence and local administration teams are being mobilised to reinforce the emergency response, the official said.
He said officials were keeping track of the Sankosh’s water level and flow and were in regular contact with their counterparts in Bhutan to follow developments and receive updates on the situation.
The official added that no major damage or casualties had been reported so far in Kumargram, an area of Alipurduar located alongside the Sankosh.