http://ens-news.com/ens/jul2003/2003-07-09-01.asp

Deadly Monsoon Rains Sweep India, China

By Tara Chand Malhotra

NEW DELHI, India, July 9, 2003 (ENS) - At least 23 people have lost
their lives and tens of thousands have been affected in a series of
landslides and flash floods triggered by incessant monsoon rainfall in
the Darjeeling district of West Bengal state. The worst landslides
have cut off the hilly tea producing Darjeeling district from the rest
of India.

In China, 13 people have died since the end of June due to torrential
rain and flooding. Information collected by the Red Cross Society of
China shows that the heavy rains across large parts of southern,
eastern and central China have affected close to 100 million people in
16 provinces, causing 298 deaths so far this year.


The town of Darjeeling in the foothills of the Himalayas (Photo
courtesy Mike Searle)
The Himalayan landlocked country of Sikkim is marooned fue to major
damage to the Nandi bridge near Siliguri, leaving Kalimpong and
Guwahati inaccessible from Siliguri as well.
Many people are still missing, and authorities fear they are trapped
beneath the debris.

Darjeeling District Magistrate Hridyesh Mohan said, "The worst hit
areas were the Gayabari and Singbulee tea estates." Here, landslides
occurred in four spots in close proximity of each other."

According to Mohan, rescue teams have pulled out 18 bodies so far,
including three women, from the disaster site.

West Bengal's Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said in his home
town of Kolkata that 14 persons were killed and six others known to be
missing are feared to have died under the debris.

While Mohan put the number of those missing at eight, Mirik
Municipality Chairman L.B. Rai, who was on the spot, fears the toll
might be more than 30.


Chief Minister of West Bengal Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee (Photo courtesy
Office of the Minister)
Bhattacharjee confirmed that Army help has been sought since Hill Cart
Road, Pankhabari Road, Mirik Road and Kalimpong Road are blocked.
Though a relief kitchen has been opened for those affected, relief and
rescue operations have been hindered by the disruption of landline and
mobile phone services throughout the day.

The slew of landslides has breached in six places the road known as
NH55, which is the arterial connector of Darjeeling and Kurseong with
Siliguri.

Incessant rainfall in Sikkim and Darjeeling has caused all local
rivers to overflow. With the Brahmaputra River rising steadily, the
flood situation in Assam is becoming more serious.

The volume of water in the Brahmaputra has led to rising water levels
in several North Bengal Rivers. Large parts of Siliguri and Jalpaiguri
are under water.

State Public Works Department Minister Amar Chowdhury said the hills
received a total 155 millimeters of rainfall on Monday night. He has
asked Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta to release adequate money from
the natural calamity fund to deal with the emergency.


The Ganges River running high through West Bengal. The Brahmaputra is
a tributary of the Ganges. (Photo courtesy West Bengal Irrigation and
Waterways)
Chowdhury also asked the district administration to set up a disaster
team to assess the extent of damage.
Officials estimate it will take at least three days to restore
vehicular movement between the hills and the plains.

In neighboring Jalpaiguri district, which serves as a receptacle for
the rainwater streaming down the hills, the administration has issued
a red alert. More than 50,000 people are caught in the onrushing
water, now coming in a ceaseless downpour.

To help control the water levels, a large amount of water has been
released from the Teesta barrage at Gajaldoba, flooding the downstream
areas of the Teesta River and its tributaries.

Meanwhile, as the Brahmaputra River is flowing above the danger level,
the overall flood situation in Assam state is also worsened.

More and more new areas of central and lower Assam have been
inundated, and three deaths have been reported.

The floods have also affected life in other parts of South Asia
including Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh where scores of people have
died in the past few weeks.

In Dhaka, the Bangladesh Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre said
today that the Brahmaputra River has started rising again and may
cross the danger level at Chilmari, Bahadurabad and Serajganj in the
next 24 to 48 hours. As a result, low lying areas in the districts of
Bogra, Jamalpur, Serajganj, Pabna, and Tangail are likely to be
inundated, officials warn.


The Chinese province of Anhui is inundated each year during monsoon
season. In 1999, Chinese Red Cross medical teams use boats to reach
flood victims cut off by deep water. (Photo courtesy IFRC)
China too is being hit with the annual monsoon rains, which have
killed 13 people in the past week. The Chinese Ministry of Civil
Affairs reports that 552,000 people have been evacuated, and 1.85
million people in 6,266 villages are stranded by floods.
In the worst affected provinces of Anhui, Jiangsu and Henan, all
located along the Huai River, the economic losses are estimated to
exceed US$800 million according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

In Anhui province, the accumulated rainfall has caused the largest
floods since 1991. Chinese authorities have blown up seven dikes along
the swollen Huai River over the last two days to divert floodwaters
and protect large cities such as Anhui's industrial town of Bengbu. An
estimated 400,000 people in Anhui have been evacuated to safe areas,
local authorities say.