Extreme rainfall event in Kalimpong district: 04/05Oct2025 ('Impact on Teesta Bazar')

The first photographic records of major flooding at Teesta Bazar is of the October 1968 disaster when extensive portions of the settlement were washed away by the Teesta River. The event also led to the collapse of the Andersen Bridge — a key river crossing at Teesta Bazar — reportedly as a result of the sudden failure of a landslide-dammed lake located further upstream.
Subsequent decades saw recurring flood impacts in the area. In October 2023, Teesta Bazar was severely affected by a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) originating from the upper Teesta basin. This event caused extensive damage along the Teesta valley and was documented in detail by SaveTheHills (STH).
In July 2024, the locality again experienced significant flooding. Despite detailed recommendations submitted by STH regarding necessary mitigation and risk-reduction measures following the 2023 event, most corrective actions remained unimplemented. Consequently, the warning issued in the 2024 report — “Failure to take timely corrective action will mean a repetition of this whole scenario once again in 2025” — was validated when a similar flood event reoccurred in October 2025.
This pattern underscores the urgent need for comprehensive and coordinated flood mitigation interventions at Teesta Bazar, including structural and non-structural measures, to prevent further recurrence of such disasters in the future.
As expected the town again experienced major floods during the deluge of 04/05/Oct2025. STH photographer Praveen Chhetri was available at site to record the event:

Submerged Darjeeling - Kalimpong road: Two women from Teesta bazar wistfully look at the flooded Kalimpong-Darjeeling road on 05Oct2025. 
I took the photo (below) from almost the same spot on the Teesta bridge in 2024 when the river had receded and the submerged homes alongside the road were visible.
This road passes thru Teesta bazar and every time it is flooded, we have to take a lengthy 6hr detour instead of the normal 2hrs to/from Darjeeling.

Drone image of the flooded Darjeeling-Kalimpong road at Teesta bazar on 05Oct2025

On 05Oct2025, the Teesta submerged this junction of NH10 and the road to/from Darjeeling (where motorcyclists have assembled). In the distant, the Teesta bridge linking Gangtok and Kalimpong is visible - the river is huge and stretches from one bank to the other.

Trees, stumps and debris were again dumped on the Darjeeling-Kalimpong road below the Teesta bridge by the floods of 05Oct2025.

Almost an annual event - flooded homes in Teesta bazar on 05Oct2025.

The Teesta flowing bank to bank on 05Oct2025. NH10 which connects Siliguri to Gangtok is blocked at Rabi Jhora which is a small flooded bridge on the right bank. This extreme event took place at the peak of festivities and Puja season with hundreds of vehicles choking the highways and roads. 

All photos (except one taken in 2024) by Praveen Chhetri @ Junkeri Studios, Kalimpong. My grateful thanks to Praveen (junkeristudio@gmail.com) for photographing the event as a historical record. 
Talking about historical records, I have a small story to recount  about the Teesta bazar👇

A walk back thru time

I was 17yrs old when the October 1968 disaster struck the Darjeeling–Sikkim Himalaya — 57 years ago now. About a week after 04Oct1968, my cousin, a friend, and I walked down to Teesta Bazar, where I took a few photographs with my father’s Zeiss Ikon bellows medium-format camera. Those photos, badly damaged over time, had long been missing until yesterday, when I stumbled upon them while rummaging through some old prints. Thanks to Praveen for scanning them — I’ve since worked on the images in Photoshop and an AI restoration tool and managed to recover four photos. Though still blurred and damaged, they now stand preserved for posterity, alongside those from Das Studio

The Andersen bridge after it was brought down by the Teesta during the 1968 flood. The blurry figures standing on the right are my cousin and friend.

Teesta bazar from the opposite bank. This area sustained a huge amount of damage including a petrol pump and all the equipment which were swept away by the rampaging Teesta. The remains of the Andersen bridge are still visible today.

Apologies for this image which is really bad - but still you can make out some damaged homes and a lot of scars which are landslides... this area is (I think) where Krishnagram now stands in Teesta bazar.

This part of Teesta bazar is where the community hall and the haat bazar stands today. You can distinctly see the road going up to Darjeeling and Peshoke in the upper right.

Praful Rao
savethehills@gmail.com

9475033744

Extreme rainfall event in the Darjeeling district: 04/05Oct2025 (Part IIIB - damage caused by 'non- fatal landslides')

 Non - fatal landslides

The intense storm of 04–05 October 2025 triggered numerous non-fatal, rain-induced landslides of varying types and magnitudes across the Darjeeling–Kalimpong region (see above). Official estimates place the number of landslides in Darjeeling district alone at nearly 500. Given the scale of the event and the difficulty of surveying each site, this report focuses on a selection of the major landslides.

Seeyok Tea Garden - Sukhia block.

a. Area involved: Goddam dhura Ward 10 consists of 336 people in 87 homes.

b. Circumstances: Heavy rainfall began across the region on the evening of 04 October 2025. As the intensity increased, several residents—most of them tea garden workers—woke their neighbours and urged them to move to safer ground. One woman, an ASHA worker who had received RED alerts on her mobile phone, also went door-to-door warning others of the danger. Around 2 a.m. on 05 October 2025, a massive landslide struck, accompanied by a deafening roar reminiscent of an explosion. The Rangli River, normally a small stream, had swollen into a torrent, altered its course, and swept away two bridges in the area.
c. Damage: 7 homes completely damaged, 3 partially damaged. Livestock has been lost and vegetable gardens are ruined. Roads in the area are in a mess. 32 people were living in a relief camp. Many vehicles and two wheelers belonging to the community were washed away.

Goddam Dhura after the deluge of 05Oct2025. It is amazing that even after such devastation,
no one died - in large part due to the alertness of the community and timely evacuation to safer ground.

The tea industry, both in the Dooars and the hills, suffered huge losses because of the heavy rains. Here you see large landslides ruining parts of a garden - Goddam Dhura is visible in the valley below.

Drone image of Goddam Dhura on 17Oct2025. The rampage and destruction by the river is very apparent.

Taba Koshi, Mirik Subdivision (Coords 26.921391N 88.173500E)

a. Area: Taba Koshi is a series of around 40 homestays along the Rangbangh river which came up during the time of Subash Ghisingh and which started flourishing once road communication links from the area to Siliguri, Mirik and so on were established.
On 04Oct2025, due to the festive season, almost all the homestays were full with tourists from the plains.
b. Circumstances: As in other areas, rainfall started during the day on 04Oct2025 but intensified after 6pm and became really heavy later. Noticing the Rangbangh river had started crossed all danger levels, the locals started evacuating their guests to safer places after midnight. The power supply which had been erratic, thru the day because of the intense lightning on 04Oct2025 went OFF altogether at night so everything had to be done in pitch darkness and in heavy rain. So it was nothing short of a miracle that no one died.

c. Damages/loss: Many of the homestays were damaged as the Rangbangh river surged into the compounds and swept away vehicles as well as parts of the homestays in the early hours of 05Oct2025. There was significant damage to roads as well as to power lines and poles.

Damage to homes and infrastructure at Taba Koshi by the Rangbangh river - photo taken on 17Oct2025 more than two weeks after the deluge.

The Rangbangh river seen here is by all accounts a tiny stream which on the 05Oct2025 became a roaring torrent after the heavy rainfall on 04/05Oct2025. The river changed its course and threatened many homestays which were otherwise quite far from the river. Here, an earthmoving equipment is being used to correct the river's path.

The rampaging Rangbangh river caused extensive damage to roads and bridges at Taba Koshi on 04/05Oct2025.

A vehicle drives over a temporary bridge made of hewn pipes because of damage to the original bridge by the river on 05Oct2025

A smashed vehicle lying on the banks of Rangbangh river. Many such vehicles were lost because the homestay owners never believed the river, otherwise a tiny stream was capable of such devastation.

Massively eroded part of a homestay at Taba Koshi.

Damaged parts of a homestay and power lines at Taba Koshi, Mirik.

On 05Oct2025, a tiny stream (Rangbangh river) transformed into a rampaging torrent and brought down these massive boulders to a homestay at Taba Koshi.

This is the heart of tea country in Darjeeling district and the havoc wreaked by the rain and ensuing landslides is huge. Large parts of tea gardens have been severely mauled by the disaster o 04/05Oct2025.

Report by STH Survey team (which will be updated as and when possible)

From Left to Right
Steve Rai(interviews and videos with Praveen)
Yukta Acharya (Interviews and records): yuktaa1999@gmail.com
Shreya Gurung (Interviews): shreyagurung07@gmail.com
Praveen Chhetri (all drone images and photographs): junkeristudio@gmail.com

with sincere thanks and appreciation to Roshan, Rajen bhai and Priya of Darjeeling Himalaya Initiative (DHI)
and also to Aachal (Anugyalaya DDSSS) for helping with resource persons and information.

Praful Rao
savethehills@gmail.com
9475033744

Extreme rainfall event in the Darjeeling district: 04/05Oct2025 (Part IIIA - 'Overall damage and fatal landslides')

 BEFORE & AFTER LANDSLIDE IMAGES FROM NATIONAL REMOTE SENSING CENTER (NRSC)

The Darjeeling district, particularly the Kurseong and Mirik subdivisions, experiences extremely high annual rainfall, averaging over $3000\text{ mm}$. This concentrated precipitation, which falls largely between May and October, makes the region highly susceptible to recurrent landslides, resulting in a long history of such events:
September 1899 (72 fatalities reported in the region).
October 1968 (A massive landslide event combined with a great flood, resulting in over 667 fatalities in Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Teesta Bazar, Lebong, and other areas). Covered in our blog, see here.
June-July 2015: Landslides occurred in Mirik, Tingling, Nimki Dara, and Sukhia Pokhari. Covered in our blog, see here.
October 2025 Disaster: Relentless overnight rainfall on October 4 and 5, 2025, triggered one of the worst recent landslide disasters. Rainfall data of the event is given below:

Fatalities
As per media reports 32 people lost their lives in the deluge with 21 people dying in Darjeeling and 9 & 2 losing their lives in Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar respectively.

Damage
The disaster damaged 81 roads, 11 bridges, innumerable culverts. It breached 1128m of embankments and washed away 12,680m of river protection works were washed away. Electrical infrastructure was also badly damaged with 272 transformers and 1340 poles being restored till 16Oct2025. Several schools, health centers and drinking water systems were also damaged. Massive damage was reported to the tea industry as well.The tables below will be updated:

Fatal Landslides 

1. Toklang Dara Gaon (Coords: 26.869383N, 88.192072E), Mirik subdivision, Darjeeling district. ('Gaon' is 'Village' in Nepali/Hindi)

Four members of a family were killed by the landslide at this home on 05Oct2025

a. Fatalities: Four — all members of a family who had returned to their home in Taklong  from Salbari, Siliguri, after eight years to celebrate the Dasain festival together.
b. Time of Occurrence: Around 3 a.m. on 05Oct2025.
c. Details: This large landslide occurred during intense thundershowers which moved in from Nepal on 04Oct2025 afternoon. According to local residents, a huge boulder perched on the hilltop — which had earlier been reported to both the local administration and the media — was dislodged by the heavy rainfall, triggering the disaster. Locals also pointed out that inadequate drainage on a newly constructed road above the site had added weight to the slope crown, contributing to the failure.
d. Damage: In addition to the four fatalities, several livestock were lost, and four houses — including a large building — were damaged.
During their survey, the SaveTheHills (STH) team observed numerous landslides along nearby roads, underscoring how road construction and drainage issues remain major triggers for slope failures in the Himalayan terrain.

    Toklang Dara Village (gaon) in Mirik. The hills in the distant are in Nepal

Drone image of the large landslide at Toklang  Dara (Mirik) which
killed 4 people on 05Oct2025.

Large boulders which were dislodged by the intense rain caused immense damage to the village besides the fatalities.

2. Jasbeer Gaon (Coords: 26.895N, 88.2064E) Mirik subdivision, Darjeeling district. ('Gaon' is 'Village' in Nepali/Hindi)

a. Fatalities: Two (husband and wife killed in the landslide - the daughter, aged 15, survived)
b. Time of Occurrence: Around 3 a.m. on 05Oct2025.
c. Details and damage: This massive landslide at Jasbir Gaon extends nearly 1,200 metres down to the Rangbhang River (see map above). According to local residents, a fissure that appeared on the road at the crown of the slope allowed water to seep in, eventually triggering the collapse.
The impact was devastating: once-flourishing orange orchards were wiped out, homes and livestock were lost, and two lives were tragically claimed. The disaster has left deep scars on the landscape and on the community’s livelihood. Many displaced families are now taking shelter in a relief camp at Soureni Bazar, Mirik.

Drone image of Jasbir village landslide near the crown of the landslide.

Drone image of the landslide where it meets Rangbhang river at the base of the mountain. The slide is more than 1.2km in length from the crown (top) to the toe (bottom).

Jasbir Gaon fatal landslide. Two people lost their lives in this area in the early hours of 
05Oct25. In just a few minutes, the massive landslide swept through the slope, turning once-bountiful orange orchards into a barren, rocky wasteland.

Rangbhang river below Jasbir Gaon. The overnight rainfall on 04/05Oct2025 transformed this tiny stream into a raging torrent which gouged out large parts of the valley in its path.

3. Bishnulal Gaon, 11th Mile, Mirik subdivision (Coord 26.89512N 88.17635E)

a. Fatalities: Two of a family (son 9yrs, niece 11yrs of Rabin Chhetri)
b. Time of occurrence: Early hours of 05Oct2025.
c.  Details: Tragedy struck a home at Mirik when a landslide claimed the lives of a nine-year-old son and eleven-year-old niece of Rabin Chettri. The family’s house was completely destroyed, and their neighbor’s home was left half-buried under the debris. Continuous rainfall since the previous evening had saturated the already unstable slope. Just a year earlier, a kutcha road had been hastily constructed along the crown of the hill, using heavy machinery and without any retaining walls or proper drainage which according to Rabin may have caused the landslide. The presence of four borewells at the toe of the slope, coupled with waterlogging, may have further destabilized the ground. When the slope finally gave way around 3:30 a.m., the debris not only engulfed the houses but also buried the borewells, cutting off water access for the entire neighborhood.

Drone image of the slope failure and where two children died at 11th Mile, Mirik on 05Oct2025.

Frontal view of a smashed home where the fatalities occurred.

Partly buried borewell at the base of the landslide. Locals suspect that the water from these wells may have exacerbated the slope failure. Right now, drinking water is a problem for the community in the area because the borewells are non-functional.

Drone image of the landslide gives a clue as to what may have caused the landslide. On the extreme left, there appears to be a jhora or stream which could have led to the slope failure. Notice the reddish color of the soil and the absence of any boulders and rocks.

4. Lakeside landslide, Mirik municipality (Coords:26.89130, 88.18340)
a. Fatalities: Three of a family
b. Time of occurrence: At around 3.00am on 05Oct2025.
c. Details: The family members that the STH team talked with were incredulous that a landslide had taken place in their area at all. They clearly said that the area had no instability or drainage problem and that the only reason that the small slip had taken place was that soil from a nearby construction had been dumped above their home and that during heavy rainfall, this soil had  slid down in the early hours of the 05Oct2025, and extinguished the lives of 3 members of the family. In fact, the whole event had occurred so quietly that they only discovered the landslide and the death of their members at around 6am on 05Oct2025.

Where three lives were snuffed out at around 3am on 05Oct2025 Lakeside, Mirik.

Notice the red soil of the area which many locals say is the reason why Mirik is so landslide prone. The landslide at 3 am of 05Oct2025 went completely unnoticed by other members of the family who only discovered it later at around 6am. By that time, two elders of the family and a relative who was visiting them from Nepal had been dead for several hours, buried by the red soil in a small landslip. 

The red, granular soil tends to lose its cohesion and frictional strength when it becomes wet or moist.

STH team interviewing family members at Lakeside, Mirik during their survey.

Report on fatal and other landslides will be continued.

Report by STH Survey team
Praveen Chhetri (all drone images and photographs): junkeristudio@gmail.com
Steve Rai(interviews and videos with Praveen)
Shreya Gurung (Interviews): shreyagurung07@gmail.com
Yukta Acharya (Interviews and records): yuktaa1999@gmail.com

with sincere thanks and appreciation to Roshan, Rajen bhai and Priya of Darjeeling Himalaya Initiative (DHI)
and also to Aachal (Anugyalaya DDSSS) for helping with resource persons and information.

Praful Rao
savethehills@gmail.com
9475033744