CNN —
A search and rescue operation has been launched for more than 100 missing people in India’s northeast after flash floods ripped through the Himalayan state of Sikkim Wednesday, killing at least 14 people and washing away roads and bridges, according to the state government.
Known as the rooftop of the world, the ecologically-sensitive Himalayan region is prone to flash floods and landslides and flooding is not unusual in Sikkim.
But scientists are clear that extreme weather is becoming more frequent and more intense as the human-caused climate crisis accelerates.
A “sudden cloudburst” over Lhonak Lake, in the northern part of the state, sent fast-moving torrents of water surging down the Teesta River in Sikkim’s Lachen valley, raising water levels 15-20 feet higher than normal, the Indian Army said in a statement. A cloudburst is a very sudden and destructive rainstorm.
Video from the north of the state shows the muddy deluge rapidly overflowing the river and flooded houses caked in dirt and debris.
The city of Pakyong was the worst affected with seven people killed in the floods and 59 people missing, the Sikkim government said.
Among those unaccounted for are dozens of members of the Indian Army. A “massive” search and rescue operation to find the missing soldiers has been launched but efforts were hampered by “incessant rains” and flooding that had cut off roads and washed-out bridges, the army said.
On Wednesday evening, one soldier was rescued and is in a stable condition but 22 others remain missing, according to the army.
At least 11 bridges collapsed in the flooding, impeding rescue efforts and cutting off remote areas, the government said.
In the state capital and largest city Gangtok, three deaths were reported and 22 people missing, it added.
More than 2,000 people have been evacuated and relief camps have been set up across the state to help more than 22,000 people affected by the flash floods.
The India Meteorological Department has forecast heavy rainfall to continue across the country’s east and northeast, including Sikkim, for the next two days.
Sikkim’s chief minister Prem Singh Tamang said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that emergency services have been mobilized to the affected areas, and he has “visited Singtam to assess the damages and engage with the local community.” Singtam is a town affected by the flooding about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from Gangtok.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the situation an “unfortunate natural calamity” and offered “all possible support in addressing the challenge.”
“I pray for the safety and well-being of all those affected,” he wrote on X.
Himalayan glaciers provide freshwater to two billion people and many communities depend on the glacial waters to irrigate their crops.
But a recent report warned the glaciers could lose up to 80% of their ice by 2100 as temperatures rise, heightening the likelihood of floods, landslides, avalanches and also drought.
In India’s north, communities have warned for decades about unregulated commercial development, deforestation and back-to-back dam building in the fragile region, increasing the risk of disasters, flooding and landslides.
In 2021, a Himalayan glacier collapsed in Uttarakhand, sending an avalanche of water, dust and rocks down a mountain gorge, and crashing though two hydroelectric projects, killing at least 38 people.