Overview

• State officials and multiple outlets report at least 24 fatalities in West Bengal’s hill districts, with Mirik the worst hit, as casualty figures remain provisional.
• Two iron bridges, including the Dhudia span over the Balason River, collapsed and key routes such as NH-10 and the Mirik–Sukhiapokhri road suffered major damage, isolating communities.
• The NDRF and army teams are conducting search and evacuations, using boats and temporary zip lines in places like Jalpaiguri, though continuous rain is slowing access to remote villages.
• The India Meteorological Department kept severe weather alerts in place, shifting to a red alert for Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri and an orange alert for Darjeeling, with saturated soils heightening landslide risk.
• Hundreds of tourists remain stranded as West Bengal set up a 24x7 control room, announced compensation, and prepared a high-level visit, while Nepal reported 44–47 deaths from related slides and floods.