Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Gangtok: The Meteorological Centre in Gangtok, part of the India Meteorological Department, slapped a seven-day weather warning on Sikkim today. Forecasters expect heavy to very heavy downpours to slam several districts over the next 48 hours. The storm is moving fast.
Gyalshing, Namchi, and Soreng face an orange alert for Thursday and Friday. These areas will see the worst of the deluge, with isolated heavy to very heavy rain hitting Thursday followed by lingering heavy rain on Friday. Residents should prepare for flooding. Gangtok, Mangan, and Pakyong are under a yellow watch for the same two-day stretch. Those districts can expect heavy rainfall in one or two locations.
The agency expects light to moderate rain across the entire state from Thursday through Saturday. Rainfall will cover many spots on September 27. It will then taper off to a few locations through September 30. "Conditions likely to improve from September 24," the official report noted, referencing the shift after the peak storm period. By Saturday, September 26, the department will drop all warnings across the six districts. This period of calm is set to hold through October 1.
Updated at 25th September 2026 at 1:49pm
A major landslide tore through Rimbi village in the Yuksom-Tashiding constituency late September 24, ripping apart property and local infrastructure. While there are no reports of casualties, the slide adds to the ongoing crisis in the area, which has struggled with a persistent, active landslide since August that previously endangered 150 residents.
Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang called the situation deeply concerning. He directed officials to stay on high alert and monitor the ground closely. The Chief Minister urged locals to track official warnings and stick together while the government works to secure the area.
Updated at 26th September 2026 at 1:48am
The toll in Rimbi is climbing. Officials report 32 houses and four government quarters now face burial under mud and debris. The destruction has severed key travel links, with the Rimbi-Yuksom and Rimbi-Khecheopalri roads shuttered. The local RCC bridge is gone, swept away by the deluge, and the Rimbi River has carved a new path, eating into the roadside.
Data shows the Yuksom-Rimbi area took the brunt of the weather with 224.6 mm of rain in 24 hours. The Rimbi ICDS Centre is flooded, and the landslide, fueled by the unstable Singlitam hillock, has forced residents to relocate to the Rimbi Panchayat Bhawan. The Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority warns that debris blocking the Nik Kholsa stream could trigger a sudden, dangerous release of water and silt, putting further homes in the direct line of fire.
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