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India ranks ninth globally among countries most impacted by climate disasters over the past three decades, with nearly 430 extreme weather events killing more than 80,000 people, according to a new report. The Climate Risk Index (CRI) 2026 released by the environment think tank Germanwatch at COP30 in Belem, Brazil, on Tuesday said climate disasters affected 1.3 billion people and caused economic losses worth almost USD 170 billion from 1995 to 2024. The report said the country's losses stemmed largely from repeated floods, cyclones, droughts and heat waves that have intensified with global warming. Events such as the 1998 Gujarat cyclone, the 1999 Odisha super cyclone, the 2013 Uttarakhand floods and recent deadly heat waves are among those that contributed to India's high ranking on the index, it said. The report said India's situation represents a "continuous threat" rather than isolated disasters, as recurring weather extremes have steadily eroded development gains and undermin
Global tech firm Brightcom on Friday announced a collaboration with US-based humanitarian organization Project DYNAMO to integrate defence-grade AI systems for advancing disaster preparedness. The partnership aims to leverage Brightcom's command and decision-support platforms to enhance crisis response, evacuation coordination, and disaster recovery operations globally, the company said in a regulatory filing. Project DYNAMO is known for high-risk evacuations from conflict zones such as Afghanistan, Ukraine, and Israel, will contribute its operational expertise and field-tested methods. These will be integrated into Brightcom's AI-driven workflows for situational awareness, communications, and mission planning. "Partnering with Brightcom lets us scale our methods globally with AI-driven coordination, so responders can move from chaos to clarity in minutes, not hours," Mario A Duarte, CEO of Project DYNAMO, said. The collaboration is positioned in line with the priorities set by th
At least 91 students remain trapped in concrete rubble almost two days after an Islamic school building collapsed on them, authorities said after reviewing attendance records and reports from anxious families of those missing. More than 300 rescue workers desperately worked to free survivors Wednesday morning, after the structure fell on top of hundreds of people, mostly teen boys, who had been performing afternoon prayers Monday in a prayer hall at a century-old al Khoziny Islamic boarding school in East Java province that was undergoing an unauthorised expansion. At least three students have been confirmed dead and 100 others were injured. The National Disaster Management Agency revised the number of people presumed buried in the rubble to 91 late Tuesday from the previous 38.
Floods that damaged hydropower dams in Nepal and destroyed the main bridge connecting the country to China show the vulnerability of infrastructure and need for smart rebuilding in a region bearing the brunt of a warming planet, experts say. The flooding of the Bhotekoshi River on July 8 also killed nine people and damaged an inland container depot that was being built to support increasing trade between the two countries. The 10 damaged hydropower facilities, including three under construction, have a combined capacity that could power 600,000 South Asian homes. Another smaller flood in the area on July 30 damaged roads and structures, but caused less overall destruction. Nepal's location in the Himalayan mountains makes it especially vulnerable to heavy rains, floods and landslides because the area is warming up faster than the rest of the world due to human-caused climate change. Climate experts say the increasing frequency of extreme weather has changed the playbook for assessin
The Centre on Wednesday constituted the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC), headed by the cabinet secretary, for dealing with any situation of major disaster having national ramifications. In a notification, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said exercising the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 8A of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 (53 of 2005), the central government constituted the NCMC. While the cabinet secretary will be the chairperson, Union home secretary, defence secretary, secretary (co-ordination), cabinet secretariat and member and head of department, the National Disaster Management Authority, will be the members of the committee. The committee shall be the apex body for dealing with the situation arising out of a major disaster, which has national ramifications, the notification said. The chairperson of the NCMC may co-opt any expert or any officer either from the central government or the state government or any organisation, depending on the
India has "always stood" by its partners in the region as the first responder in times of crisis, and the BIMSTEC disaster management exercise further strengthened cooperation in the Bay of Bengal region towards disaster preparedness, response and resilience, the MEA said on Wednesday. India hosted the 4th BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise virtually on July 14-15. The exercise organised by the National Disaster Management Authority, as a tabletop exercise, witnessed the participation of disaster management professionals from BIMSTEC Member States to assess and enhance regional preparedness for cyclones and floods. "The participants presented details of national disaster management architectures, engaged in simulated scenarios, evaluated response frameworks and shared best practices to strengthen coordination for disaster response across the region," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement. "India has always stood by its partners in the region as the first ...
The death toll in the collapse of a bridge over a river in Gujarat's Vadodara district has gone up to 13 with the recovery of two more bodies, officials said on Thursday. Several vehicles plunged into the Mahisagar river after a portion of the four-decade-old bridge collapsed near Gambhira village close to Padra town on Wednesday morning, "With the recovery of two more bodies from the river on Wednesday night, the death toll in the bridge collapse incident has reached 13. Five persons, who were injured in the incident, are currently undergoing treatment at a hospital," Vadodara district Superintendent of Police Rohan Anand said. The two victims, whose bodies were found at night, have been identified as Mehram Hathiya (51) and Vishnu Raval (27). A slab of the Gambhira-Mujpur bridge, which connects central Gujarat to the Saurashtra region of the state, collapsed at around 7 am on Wednesday, as per officials. This caused the vehicles passing through the bridge to plunge into the ...
Rescuers on Thursday were searching for 43 people missing in rough seas overnight after a ferry carrying 65 people sank near Indonesia's resort island of Bali. The KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya sank almost half an hour after leaving East Java's Ketapang port late Wednesday, the National Search and Rescue Agency said in a statement. It was bound for Bali's Gilimanuk port, a 50-kilometre trip. The ferry carried 53 passengers, 12 crew members and 22 vehicles, including 14 trucks, it said. Two bodies have been recovered and 20 were rescued, many of them unconscious after drifting in choppy waters for hours, said Banyuwangi police chief Rama Samtama Putra. Nine boats, including two tug boats and two inflatable boats have been searching for the missing people since Wednesday night, battling waves up to 2 metres (6.5 feet) high in the overnight darkness. Ferry tragedies are common in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, where ferries are often used as transport and safety ...
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday outlined five key global priorities for him to build disaster-resilient infrastructure, including a skilled workforce, a global digital repository to document best practices and innovative financing. In a video address to the International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure 2025, Modi said strengthening early-warning systems and coordination is another crucial aspect. He noted that India has established a tsunami-warning system benefitting 29 countries and that it recognises the Small Island Developing States (SIDA) as large-ocean countries and the need for special attention to their vulnerabilities. With the event being hosted in Europe for the first time, Modi thanked French President Emmanuel Macron and extended his best wishes to him for the upcoming United Nations Oceans Conference. In his remarks, he prime minister noted that the conference's theme is "Shaping a Resilient Future for Coastal Regions" and underscored the ...
Intensifying its efforts for aiding relief and rescue work in earthquake-hit Myanmar under Operation Brahma', India has dispatched two naval ships to the neighbouring country while a field hospital is slated to be airlifted later on Saturday, the MEA said. Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a briefing that two more Indian naval ships would follow under this humanitarian assistance operation. Besides the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) being sent via aircraft, a field hospital with 118 members from Agra is expected to leave later on Saturday, he said. Personnel of the federal disaster contingency force are being deployed under Operation Brahma, with quake rescue equipment such as strong concrete cutters, drill machines, hammers, plasma cutting machines etc to provide succour to the neighbouring country. Commandant PK Tiwary of the 8th NDRF battalion based in Ghaziabad near Delhi is leading the Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team. ND
An earthquake of 3.8 magnitude hit Manipur's Noney district on Saturday, officials said. There was no immediate report of any loss of life or damage to property, they said. The earthquake took place at 2.31 pm, and the location was in Noney district of the northeastern state, the National Center for Seismology said. The depth of the quake was 10 km, it said. The northeastern states fall in the high seismic zone, and earthquakes frequently hit the region.
In a breakthrough in the tunnel collapse rescue operation in Telangana that has been going on for a week, the whereabouts of four of the total eight persons trapped has been located, state Excise Minister Jupally Krishna Rao said on Saturday. Krishna Rao, who attended a meeting with officials involved in the rescue operation along with Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy, said there was lot of progress during the last couple of days. "In my view, the whereabouts of four persons have been located through radar," he told reporters at the tunnel. He expressed hope they would be extricated by Sunday evening. The other four appear to have been stuck beneath the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM), he said. Asked about the condition of the four whose whereabouts have been found, the minister recalled he had said on the first day itself that the chances of survival are remote. The 450 ft tall TBM was being cut, he said. The personnel of about 11 agencies are involved in the operation. Ref