![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/78\/590x\/secondary\/India-4997111.jpg?r=1696577707241\")
<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/78\/590x\/secondary\/India-4997113.jpg?r=1696577707319\")
<\/p>\n
The design and placement of the Teesta-3 dam were controversial when it was first built as part of an Indian government push to expand hydropower energy. Opponents warned extreme weather caused by climate change makes dam-building in the Himalayas too dangerous.<\/p>\n
Himanshu Thakkar of the non-governmental organisation South Asian Network for Rivers, Dams and People: \u201cDespite being the biggest project in the state, there were no early warning systems installed even though the glacier overflowing was a known risk.\u201d<\/p>\n
India\u2019s National Disaster Management Agency today confirmd plan to set up early warning systems for real-time alerts at most of India’s 56 known at-risk glacial lakes.<\/p>\n
However, Mr Thakkar said authorities failed to apply the lessons from a\u00a02021 dam breach\u00a0in Himalayan state of Uttarakhand that killed 81 people, allowing an \u201ceerily similar\u201d disaster to occur.<\/p>\n
The dam\u2019s operator, and local agencies responsible for dam safety, did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n
In 2021, the Indian federal government passed a dam safety law that requires operators and local governments to plan for emergencies, but the Teesta-3 dam is not listed as being monitored for safety by India\u2019s chief dam regulator, the Central Water Commission.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/78\/590x\/secondary\/India-4997110.jpg?r=1696577707368\")
<\/p>\n
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info<\/p>\n
A 2021 study warned that the dam posed a growing risk of catastrophic floods. South Lhonak Lake has been rising in recent years as a warming climate melts the glaciers that feed it, putting pressure on the dam, but it wasn\u2019t clear what triggered the breach Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Experts and varying government reports have pointed to sudden, intense rains in the area, and a 6.2 magnitude earthquake that struck nearby Nepal on Tuesday afternoon.<\/p>\n
Gyatso Lepcha, general secretary of Affected Citizens of Teesta, an environmental organization based in Sikkim, said: \u201cWe knew that this was coming.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe same can happen with other dams also,\u201d he wrote, in a statement that called for a safety review of all dams in the state.<\/p>\n
More than 2,000 people were rescued after Wednesday\u2019s floods, the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority said in a statement, adding that state authorities set up 26 relief camps for more than 22,000 people impacted by the floods.<\/p>\n
Don’t miss… <\/strong> Rescue workers were still searching for nearly 100 missing people, including 22 soldiers, as of yesterday, according to the Sikkim state government.<\/p>\n Vinay Bhushan Pathak, the state’s top bureaucrat, said that 26 people had been taken to hospitals with injuries, while nearly 3,000 tourists were stranded in the flood-hit areas along with 700 taxi drivers.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cWe are evacuating them through helicopters provided by the army and the air force.\u201d<\/p>\n Eleven bridges in the Lachan Valley were washed away by the floodwaters, which also hit pipelines and damaged or destroyed more than 270 houses in four districts, officials said.<\/p>\n Several towns, including Dikchu and Rangpo in the Teesta basin, were flooded, and schools in four districts were ordered shut until Sunday, the state\u2019s education department said.<\/p>\n Parts of a highway that links Sikkim, the state capital, with the rest of the country were also washed away.<\/p>\n The floods also hit several army camps, burying vehicles in feet of mud, according to images released by the Indian military.<\/p>\n The Press Trust of India news agency cited a statement by neighboring West Bengal state as saying that the bodies of four soldiers were found. However, it wasn\u2019t immediately clear whether they were among the 22 missing soldiers, or had died separately.<\/p>\n One soldier who had been reported missing on Wednesday was later rescued by authorities, the army said in a statement.<\/p>\n The army is providing medical aid and phone connectivity to civilians in the areas of Chungthang, Lachung and Lachen in north Sikkim, the army statement said.<\/p>\n Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s office said in a statement that the government would support state authorities in the aftermath of the flooding.<\/p>\n The Teesta 3 hydropower project, built on the Teesta River, took nine years and cost \u00a31.2billion to construct. The project was capable of producing 1,200 megawatts of electricity – enough to power 1.5 million Indian homes – and began operations in 2017.<\/p>\n Despite\u00a0risks to dams\u00a0due to increasing frequency of extreme weather, the Indian federal government aims to increase India\u2019s hydroelectric dam output by half, to 70,000 megawatts, by 2030.<\/p>\n Disasters caused by landslides and floods are common in India\u2019s Himalayan region during the June-September monsoon season. Scientists say they are becoming more frequent as global warming contributes to the\u00a0melting of glaciers\u00a0there.<\/p>\n Jakob Steiner, a climate scientist with the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development, said: \u201cThis is, incredibly sadly, another classic case of a cascading hazard chain that amplifies as you go downstream.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier this year, Mr Steiner\u2019s organisation published a\u00a0report\u00a0saying that Himalayan glaciers could lose 80 percent of their volume if global warming isn\u2019t controlled.<\/p>\n Last month,\u00a0dam breaches\u00a0caused by Storm Daniel caused devastating damage to the city of Derna in Libya.<\/p>\n Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
‘I’m a bed bug expert – the problem is just as bad in London as it is in Paris'[INSIGHT] <\/strong>
Knockback for Sadiq Khan as 115,000 foreign drivers dodge ULEZ fines[VIDEO] <\/strong>
Verhofstadt takes swipe at Farage after clip of Brexiteer dancing with Patel[ANALYSIS] <\/strong><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/78\/590x\/secondary\/India-4997109.jpg?r=1696577707439\")
<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/78\/590x\/secondary\/India-4997112.jpg?r=1696577707510\")
<\/p>\n