Disaster Accident

Climate-linked insurance scheme: Why govt is exploring it and what's ahead

The scheme could help someone in Uttarakhand or Punjab whose house was washed away in the floods. Let's unfold the climate-linked insurance scheme and understand how it can help people

Disaster management mock drill carried out at 55 locations across Delhi

A field-level, multi-agency disaster management mock drill was carried out at 55 locations across the national capital on Friday morning, according to officials. The exercise began with the triggering of a simulated earthquake scenario followed by chemical leaks in industrial and transport zones in all the 11 districts of the city. The exercise is being conducted simultaneously in Delhi as well UP and Haryana districts in the National Capital Region, the officials said. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), in collaboration with the Indian Army and the governments of Delhi, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, is organizing 'Exercise Suraksha Chakra' that culminated with a field-level mock drill. The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) is the lead agency for coordinating the mock drill to test the preparedness of Delhi-NCR in case of earthquake and industrial chemical hazards scenarios, said a statement from the Authority.

Govt constitutes crisis management body to deal with major disasters

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

Jaipur gas tanker crash: CCTV footage reveals chilling scene of accident

CCTV footage taken from a residence close to the location of the petrol tanker collision that has killed 11 people so far on the Jaipur-Ajmer route in Rajasthan has gone viral

Wayanad landslides: 123 dead, armed forces deployed; IMD predicts more rain

According to the latest information, a total of 250 people have been evacuated from the landslide affected areas of the hilly district

Indian official takes over as spl rep of UN chief for disaster risk cut

A top Indian official, Kamal Kishore, has started his term as a special representative of UN chief Antonio Guterres for disaster risk reduction. On March 28, Kishore, 55, was appointed by Guterres as his special representative for disaster risk reduction. Kishore was earlier with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). He succeeds Mami Mizutori of Japan at the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR). The UNDRR welcomed on May 20 the arrival of Kishore, who started his term as the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General (SRSG) for Disaster Risk Reduction and the Head of UNDRR, the office said in a statement on Thursday. Kishore said that the UNDRR plays an important role in drawing together global efforts to reduce disaster risks in the face of increasing vulnerabilities, and said he was looking forward to building on the progress made to date. "UNDRR's ambition matches the scale of the problem," he said. He commended the leadership of the .

Chlorine gas leak in Dehradun's Jhanjra, panicked residents evacuated

As per SSP Dehradun, Ajay Singh, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and other security personnel hurried to the spot immediately after getting information about the occurrence

India's Aether Industries ordered to shut production at blast affected site

A storage tank blast killed seven people and injured 24 at one of the company's plants in the port city in Gujarat state, Aether Industries confirmed on Thursday

Uttarakhand tunnel collapse an 'unfortunate human tragedy', says Sadhguru

It was an unfortunate human tragedy but fortunately, they all came out successfully. Tunnel collapsing happens everywhere in the world, doesn't matter how you do it," Sadhguru said

U'khand tunnel: CM meets rescued workers, gives Rs 1 lakh cheque to each

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami Wednesday met the workers rescued from the Silkyara tunnel and kept under medical observation at a hospital in Chinyalisaur and handed over Rs 1 lakh to each of them. He also spoke to their family members waiting outside the hospital. They thanked him for safely evacuating the trapped workers after almost 17 days. In the hospital, Dhami went from bed to bed speaking to each one of the rescued workers and handing over cheques to them. The chief minister also announced Rs 50,000 reward for each of the rescue workers who went inside the evacuation passage and helped the trapped labourers come out of the tunnel. "I am no less happy about their (workers) evacuation than their families. My Diwali, Igas or Dev Deepavali came yesterday as they were evacuated," the Uttarakhand chief minister told PTI earlier. Dhami said the workers were like his family. "After all they work for us...for the country." He thanked the local deity Baba Baukhnag,

Uttarkashi tunnel collapse: Medical checkup of 41 rescued miners underway

According to government sources, all the workers admitted to the health centre are being given food as per the doctors' advice

'I salute all the brave': Rahul Gandhi lauds Uttarkashi tunnel rescuers

The safe return of the labour brothers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel of Uttarkashi is very happy news. My heartiest congratulations to them and their families

U'khand tunnel: Rat-hole miners arrive for manual horizontal drilling

Vertical drilling from the top of the Silkyara tunnel, where 41 workers have been trapped for the last 15 days, progressed to 31 metres on Monday as a team of rat-hole miners arrived at the site to start manual drilling horizontally through the rubble. Vertical and manual horizontal drilling are the two methods on which rescue efforts are being focused at the moment. Work on the other options, such as horizontal drilling from the Barkot end of the tunnel is also underway. A total of 86 metres have to be drilled vertically to prepare an escape passage. Pipes of 1.2 metres in diameter have to be laid vertically through the top of the tunnel on which work began on Sunday as a second option to reach the stranded labourers. Lt Gen Harpal Singh (retd), former engineer-in-chief of the Army, informed reporters in Silkyara that vertical drilling has been done up to 31 metres. Singh, who has also headed the Border Roads Organisation, is involved in the rescue operation. The 200-mm diameter .

Day 12: Machine damage stalls rescue operations at Uttarkashi tunnel

"The auger will move extremely carefully," Hasnain said

So near yet so far: Rescue operations in Uttarkashi tunnel halted

From 22 metres, the pipe had reached 45 metres till Wednesday night, but the auger machine had to temporarily halt operations after an iron girder was encountered by authorities at the site

All trapped workers safe, says CM Dhami on Uttarkashi tunnel collapse

The NDRF teams say they have been able to establish communication with the trapped workers and all of them are in a safe position

Fate of 22 passengers unclear as rescuers locate Nepal plane wreckage

The fate of four members of an Indian family and 18 others on board a small plane of a Nepalese airlines remained unclear after the aircraft crashed on minutes after taking off from Pokhara

Fate of passengers unclear as bad weather complicates finding Nepal plane

The fate of 22 people, including four members of an Indian family, on board a Nepalese airlines plane remained unclear as bad weather and blankets of clouds made it difficult to locate the aircraft

Nepal Army helicopter at possible crash site after tracking pilot's phone

Amidst inclement weather, a Nepal Army helicopter has located the site where the small plane of a local airline with 22 people on board , media reports quoted the country's civil aviation authority

Taiwan's transport minister offers resignation after deadly train crash

Taiwan Transport Minister Lin Chia-Lung has offered his resignation following the deadly train crash in the country that killed dozens of people