Ignored warnings lead to disaster as cloudburst triggers massive landslides in Sikkim

Despite repeated scientific warnings about the fragile geology and increasing disaster vulnerability of the Teesta river basin, north Sikkim is once again in crisis.

- BISWABRATA GOSWAMI

A devastating cloudburst over the weekend has triggered a series of massive landslides, cutting off large swathes of the region, stranding more than 1,500 tourists, and claiming the lives of at least three soldiers after a landslide hit an army camp in Chatten.

This catastrophe follows years of expert alerts. In a landmark study published in Landslides (Springer Nature), noted geographer and landslide specialist Dr Biswajit Bera from Sidho-Kanho-Birsha University warned of the rising frequency and magnitude of landslides in the Sikkim Himalayas. His team's long-term research, dating back to 1999, pointed to the compounding effects of climate-induced extreme weather events, glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), and rampant development on fragile rock formations—many of which have been dangerously overlooked by planners and authorities.

"This region is tectonically hyperactive and structurally weak. Most infrastructure development, including roads and dams, is being carried out without properly considering slope stability and lithological fragility," Dr Bera emphasised in the study. "The consequences are now visible, and tragically recurring."