On an autumn Thursday evening, Shintaphu Lake, perched beneath Wakila Mountain in Bhutan's Gasa district, spilled over its natural barrier and sent water surging south along the Mo Chhu. Glacial lakes like this one have always held the mountains' old meltwater, and when such a barrier gives way, the consequence crosses borders faster than any report can follow. The flood damaged a solar irrigation system and blocked a highway in Bhutan, and on the Indian side it prompted warnings, shelters, and the quiet work of moving thousands of people out of harm's way. For now the danger has passed withou
Glacial lake outburst in Bhutan triggers flood alerts in Assam and North Bengal along the Sankosh River
No casualties reported in Bhutan so far; over 4,000 people in Indian districts were moved to relief shelters as a precaution.
On an autumn Thursday evening, Shintaphu Lake, perched beneath Wakila Mountain in Bhutan's Gasa district, spilled over its natural barrier and sent water surging south along the Mo Chhu. Glacial lakes like this one have always held the mountains' old meltwater, and when such a barrier gives way, the consequence crosses borders faster than any report can follow. The flood damaged a solar irrigation system and blocked a highway in Bhutan, and on the Indian side it prompted warnings, shelters, and the quiet work of moving thousands of people out of harm's way. For now the danger has passed without a death, though the full measure of the event remains unknown.
On Thursday evening, Shintaphu Lake in Bhutan's Gasa district overflowed, and the water rushed south through the Mo Chhu. In Punakha, the flood partly wrecked a solar irrigation system that had been installed earlier this year to ease water shortages in the Dochhukha-Dzomlingthang-Ritsa chiwog, and it pushed debris across a section of the Punakha-Gasa Highway. No casualties were reported in Bhutan. The lake is one of 17 glacial lakes there considered potentially dangerous, and the monitoring station at Taktsimakhang had raised no alarm when the first reports arrived.
Across the border, the river becomes the Sankosh, and India moved quickly. A special advisory warned of a sharp rise in water levels in Alipurduar and Dhubri, alerts spread through North Bengal, and NDRF and SDRF teams took up positions at Tufanganj and Boxirhat in Cooch Behar. Politicians pressed people to leave the riverbanks, some warning that the surge might reach Kumargram within the hour, and families gathered their belongings and went to safety.
Later word from officials brought some relief. The expected window had passed, residents were reported safe, and the water's intensity had dropped slightly. Still, more than 4,000 people were sheltered in schools, community halls, religious institutions and tea garden facilities, with food, drinking water and toilets arranged, and a red alert remained in force. Officials warned that the water might carry debris and dead fish, so the danger was not yet over.
What remains unclear is how large the outburst truly was. Both countries are watching the Sankosh, and Bhutan's other 16 potentially dangerous glacial lakes are still on the list of risks.
On Thursday evening, Shintaphu Lake in Bhutan's Gasa district overflowed. The lake sits below Wakila Mountain in the upper reaches of the Mo Chhu river basin, and when it spills, the water runs south into the Mo Chhu and surges downstream. By the time the first reports came in, the flood had already done damage in Punakha and set off alarms across the border in India.
In Bhutan, the flash flood partially damaged the Solar Irrigation Lifting System in the Dochhukha-Dzomlingthang-Ritsa Chiwog, under Guma Gewog in Punakha. The system has stopped working, and the full extent of the damage has not yet been assessed. A local leader said it was installed earlier this year to ease water supply problems for residents of the chiwog. The flood also pushed debris onto a section of the Punakha-Gasa Highway in the Dzomlingthang area, according to the Tshogpa, the local government representative. No casualties had been reported in Bhutan so far.
Shintaphu is one of 17 glacial lakes in Bhutan considered potentially dangerous. An official from the National Centre for Hydrology and Meteorology said a water-level monitoring station stands at Taktsimakhang, but it had triggered no alert when the initial reports emerged. The full scale of the outburst and its downstream effects remained unclear.
The concern for India follows from geography. The Mo Chhu feeds the Punatsangchhu basin, and the river becomes the Sankosh once it crosses into India. The Government of India issued a special advisory warning of a possible sharp rise in water levels in West Bengal's Alipurduar district and Assam's Dhubri district. Alerts also went out across parts of North Bengal, including the Darjeeling hills, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar. NDRF and SDRF teams were deployed at Tufanganj and Boxirhat in Cooch Behar, both on the Sankosh near the Assam border. The advisory said floodwater was expected to reach the India-Bhutan border within six to eight hours.
Politicians urged people to move. West Bengal Forest Minister and Kumargram MLA Manoj Kumar Oraon posted a video on Facebook warning that a surge could reach the river at Kumargram within an hour to an hour and a half, and asked residents along the Sankosh in Alipurduar to go to safer places and cooperate with the administration. Darjeeling BJP MP Raju Bista posted on X that a glacial lake outburst had been reported at Lemthang in Bhutan, with water moving down the Mofu River toward the Sunkosh. He asked people in the catchments of the river and its tributaries to relocate immediately, and told the Darjeeling hills, Terai and Dooars to stay alert.
Later accounts from Indian officials were more reassuring. The period in which the flash flood was expected has passed, and all residents in the Indian areas, including districts in West Bengal and Assam, are reported safe. Alipurduar Superintendent of Police Amit Kumar Shaw told ANI the situation was under control, that there was no need to panic, and that authorities were in constant touch with Bhutan. He said roughly 4,000 to 5,000 people had been moved into shelters, with school buildings used as relief centres, and that more than 6,000 others had been relocated to safe areas. Police, the district administration and Civil Defence were coordinating, SDRF personnel were deployed, and an NDRF team was on its way.
Shaw said the latest information from Bhutan showed the water's intensity had dropped slightly, but the administration stayed on high alert. Dry food, drinking water and toilet facilities were arranged at the shelters. A red alert remained in force for the Sankosh river system, and he cautioned that the water could carry dead fish, large pieces of wood and concrete debris. The Kumargram block administration said residents were moved to 18 flood shelters, among them schools, community halls, religious institutions and tea garden facilities. People from Assam also took shelter in safe places.
What remains open is how large the outburst actually was. Officials in both countries are watching the Sankosh's levels, and Bhutan's other 16 potentially dangerous glacial lakes remain on the list of risks behind this one.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
There is absolutely no need to panic. The situation is currently under control.— Amit Kumar Shaw, Superintendent of Police, Alipurduar
Everyone in our Darjeeling hills, Terai and Dooars region are requested to stay alert.— Raju Bista, BJP MP from Darjeeling
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