Page 32 - Disaster Accident
Dust storm hits Somnath temple ahead of cyclone Vayu's landfall
Ahead of super cyclone Vayu's landfall, strong dusty winds hit the famous Somnath Temple on the shores of Arabian Sea in Girsomnath district.A storm of dust hit the district reducing the visibility in the region and a significant rise in the sea level was also observed.Gujarat is on a high alert ahead of the landfall of the cyclone. Schools and other institutional bodies have been shut down.Director of Meteorological Department, RK Jenamani said that the Cyclone is expected to hit Gujarat's coast by Thursday.The cyclone is expected to touch Gujarat, 280 Km nearly south of Veraval Gujarat and 360 km nearly south of Porbandar.
Heavy rains in southern China leave 49 dead, 14 missing
Authorities say 49 people have died and 14 others are missing since heavy rainfall hit southern China in early June. China's disaster reduction committee said Wednesday that more than 7,000 houses have collapsed and 300,000 people have been evacuated. A statement on its social media account said direct economic losses totalled 10 billion yuan (USD 1.4 billion). The committee said that floods, landslides and mudslides from the rains have affected more than 4.5 million people in eight provinces. A senior water resources official said Tuesday that 6.75 million people in 22 provinces have been affected and 83 people died or went missing since the start of flood season this year.
45 borewells sealed in Punjab after child's death in Sangrur village
As many as 45 borewells have been sealed across the state in a bid to prevent recurrence of the tragic incident in which a 2-year-old boy died after remaining inside a borewell for 108 hours in Sangrur village, said Punjab Chief Minister's Office (CMO) on Wednesday.Earlier on Tuesday, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh had directed the closure of all open borewells across the state in the wake of the death of the boy -- Fatehveer -- who had fallen into a borewell.Singh has ordered a detailed inquiry into the incident and sought reports from Deputy Commissioners (DCs) on open borewells. He has also directed the officials to take immediate action to prevent recurrence of such incidents.The Chief Minister, who was personally monitoring the rescue operation, has asked the Disaster Management Group headed by the Chief Secretary to finalise a set of SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) to check such accidents.The group, which had been constituted to deal with natural calamities, has ...
Army, IAF teams on standby as 'Vayu' moves closer to Guj coast
As the "very severe" cyclonic storm 'Vayu' is inching closer to Gujarat coast and expected to make a landfall Thursday, the Army, the Air Force, and the NDRF teams are deployed and put on standby for rescue and relief operations along the coastal districts. The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has also deployed ships and aircraft to enable search and rescue post the landfall of the cyclonic storm. A total of ten columns of the Army each having a strength of about 70 persons -- have been deployed in Jamnagar, Gir, Dwarka, Porbandar, Jamnagar, Somnath, Morbi, Bhavnagar, Rajkot and Amreli, while another 24 columns have been put on standby to carry out rescue and relief operations, a defence release said Wednesday. The IAF has also positioned the medium lift and light utility helicopters at nodal points in the state to undertake the disaster relief operations. A highly mobile deployable radar has been placed at a high state of readiness at Gandhinagar to channelise helicopter ...
Hoardings crash in Mumbai, kills one
A senior citizen was killed and three women injured in two separate incidents of hoardings crashing in the city and suburbs, here on Wednesday, officials said.
Cyclone Vayu: Rly cancels 15 trains, short terminates 16 others
The railways has cancelled 15 trains and it will short terminate 16 others due to Cyclone Vayu, Western Railways said Wednesday. The IMD said Tuesday Vayu has intensified into a severe cyclonic storm and it is nearing the Gujarat coast. "Considering the alertness for Cyclone Vayu over Gujarat, the Western Railway has decided to fully cancel operation of 15 mainline trains, while 16 other mainline trains will be short terminated with partial cancellation as a precautionary measure in the cyclone prone areas. "In addition to this, various safety and security precautions are also being taken by the Western Railway for train passengers of these prone areas under the jurisdiction of WR -- Veraval, Okha, Porbandar, Bhavnagar, Bhuj and Gandhidham," the railways said. Some trains that have been cancelled are the Veraval-Amreli Passenger, Amreli-Junagadh, Delvada-Veraval on June 12 and 13. The state government has launched a massive evacuation exercise to shift about three lakh people from ...
Cyclone Vayu: Over 1.5 lakh moved to safety
Nearly 1.5 lakh people were evacuated to safer places from the coastal districts of Saurashtra region in Gujarat and two special evacuation trains were being pressed into service with cyclone Vayu likely to be more intense at 150 km per hour when it makes landfall in the state.
Cyclone Vayu turned 'very severe'; will remain strong even after landfall
An alert has been sounded in 10 districts of Gujarat as Cyclone Vayu has turned "very severe" and its impact is expected to remain strong for 24 hours even after its landfall Thursday, officials said. As many as 52 teams of the National Disaster Management Relief Force (NDRF), comprising around 45 rescuers each, have been moved to the state, while 10 columns of the Indian Army have been kept on stand-by. Warships and aircraft of the Indian Navy have been kept standby as well. A general alert has been sounded across 10 district in Gujarat as wind speeds are likely to touch 170 km per hour, a Home Ministry official said. Vayu has turned into a "very severe" cyclone and it is expected that its impact will continue to be strong for 24 hours even after the landfall -- between Porbandar and Union territory Diu, the official said. Normally a cyclone becomes weak after its landfall. Residents of some of the Gujarat districtshave been asked to move out to safer places or cyclone shelter ...
Hoarding crash kills Mumbai man
A cement hoarding sheet uprooted by gusty winds crashed on a pedestrian outside Churchgate station, injuring him seriously, the BMC Disaster Control said here on Wednesday.
Second helicopter service launched in Nagaland
Nagaland Transport Minister P Paiwang Konyak on Wednesday flagged off the second state helicopter service from Dimapur Airport. The chopper having a sitting capacity of 13 passengers with medical facilities will operate on 19 routes from the present 10 routes covering all the districts. The minister said that as per the directive from the Ministry of Home Affairs, only common passengers and medical evacuation cases would be able to avail 75 percent subsidy on the passenger fare. VIPs, bureaucrats and government servants will not be entitled for subsidies. Transport secretary Kenilo Apon said that in addition to the service of one helicopter that was flying 480 hours per year, Nagaland would now have two chopper services with 1200 flying hours annually. The Centre had sanctioned the additional helicopter service under the Ministry of Home Affairs subsidy scheme.
Navy braces up to deal with Cyclone Vayu
The Indian Navy Wednesday said the Western Naval Command has deployed its ships, aircraft and helicopters for rescue and relief operations and to alert the fishermen at sea about the impending Cyclone Vayu. The Navy said its diving and rescue teams and relief material have been kept on standby for rendering assistance to civil authorities. "Bricks and relief material have been embarked on board nominated ships of the (Western) Command and are ready to be deployed at short notice. "Indian Navy ships operating at sea and aircraft, helicopters on routine sorties have been directed to inform fishing vessels operating at sea and advise them to return to harbour," it said. P8i reconnaissance aircraft and IL-76 transporter aircraft are on standby to undertake Search and Rescue (SAR) missions. Medical teams and facilities at Indian Naval Hospital Asvini at Mumbai are standby to handle medical emergencies. Offshore Defence and Advisory Group has also issued an advisory on Cyclone Vayu to all ..
Cyclone Vayu: Transport services, port ops halted in Gujarat
Operations at all ports and airports located near the Gujarat coastline have been halted temporarily as a precautionary measure against cyclone 'Vayu', the state government said on Wednesday. The Western Railway has also announced that all trains passing through the coastal areas have either been short- terminated or cancelled for two days, from 6 pm on Wednesday. As per the weather department, the cyclone is expected to make a landfall in Gujarat on Thursday morning. "The state government has decided to suspend operations at all the ports situated on Gujarat's coast. As a precautionary measure, all the airports in Saurashtra region will also remain shut till the cyclone recedes," Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said after a review meet in Gandhinagar. The bus services to pilgrimage sites in that region have also been cancelled, he said. Since all airports in Kutch and Saurashtra regions have been asked to shut their operations completely, flights to these destinations from ..
Centre closely monitoring situation due to Cyclone Vayu: PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the Centre is "closely monitoring the situation" in Gujarat where cyclone Vayu is expected to make landfall on Thursday and other parts which may be impacted."The Central Government is closely monitoring the situation due to Cyclone Vayu in Gujarat and other parts of India. I have been constantly in touch with state Governments. NDRF and other agencies are working round the clock to provide all possible assistance," Prime Minister tweeted.Urging people to follow the real-time information being provided by the Government and local agencies regarding the cyclone, Modi said, "Praying for the safety and wellbeing of all those affected by Cyclone Vayu. The Government and local agencies are providing real-team information, which I urge those in affected areas to closely follow."The cyclone is expected to touch Gujarat coast between Porbandar and Mahuva around Veraval and Diu region as a severe cyclonic storm with a wind speed of 110-120 kmph ...
UP: Three teenagers swept away by river current, one body found
A 14-year-old boy drowned and two other teenagers were missing after they were swept away by river current while taking a holy dip on the occasion of Ganga Dussehra on Wednesday in Uttar Pradesh's Hardoi district, police said. The body of Divyansh (14) was recovered while a search is on for Shivam (15) and Mithun (15), Additional Superintendent of Police Gyanjay Singh said. The incident took place this morning at Shiasar ghat under Arwal police station area, he said. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed grief over the loss of lives. According to a statement issued in Lucknow, the CM has directed officials to intensify rescue operations and trace the boys.
Follow real-time info on cyclone to stay safe: PM
As cyclone 'Vayu' advances towards Saurashtra and Kutch regions of Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday advised people to follow real-time information being provided by local agencies to stay safe. "Praying for the safety and wellbeing of all those affected by Cyclone Vayu. The government and local agencies are providing real-time information, which I urge those in affected areas to closely follow," he said in a tweet. "Cyclone Vayu has turned into a very severe cyclonic storm. It would cause gusty winds to blow at a speed of 145 kmph to 170 kmph by Thursday morning," the IMD said. Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) started landing in Gujarat with the help of the Indian Air Force to undertake preventive evacuation of people living on the west coast, an IAF official said. Because of the cyclonic storm, the Arabian Sea has turned turbulent and bigger waves are advancing towards coastal areas, the IMD said.
Post-tyre burst, SpiceJet flight from Dubai lands safely in Jaipur
A SpiceJet flight from Dubai with a burst tyre landed safely at the Jaipur international airport Wednesday, an official said. Passengers said they felt jerks but the landing was safe. The Dubai air traffic control (ATC) had informed their counterparts in Jaipur about the tyre burst, when SpiceJet Boeing 737-800 took off from there. Officiating director of the Jaipur airport, Rama Gupta, told PTI that the pilots were told to fly low around the airport and emergency procedures were activated. "But the plane made a normal landing and no emergency situation arose, he said. A SpiceJet spokesperson said the pilots were informed about the tyre burst by the Jaipur ATC as the aircraft was descending. "The crew followed their procedures and landed safely," the SpiceJet spokesperson said, adding that emergency landing wasn't carried out. A passenger said they were not aware of the matter till the landing of the flight. "We came to know that something was wrong only after we came out and saw the
Cyclone Vayu: WR cancels trains to coastal Guj areas
The Western Railway has decided to short-terminate or cancel some of its trains passing through areas of Gujarat that are likely to be affected by cyclone 'Vayu'. All WR passenger and mail trains to Veraval, Okha, Porbandar, Bhavnagar, Bhuj and Gandhidham stations in Gujarat will be short-terminated or cancelled from 6 pm on Wednesday till Friday morning, the WR said in a bulletin. It has also planned to run a special train each from Gandhidham, Bhavnagar Para, Porbandar, Veraval and Okha to evacuate people from those areas, it said. Special trains with six to 10 coaches each will also be kept ready at the nearest safe location to be moved in emergency conditions, it said. The coaches currently available at depots and station yards located in coastal areas were being shifted to safer places, the WR said. "Arrangements have been made for round-the-clock manning of the railway emergency control offices," it said. All rail authorities concerned have been instructed to keep .
Cyclone Vayu: 65 evacuated from Diu, Gujarat
65 people were evacuated and shifted to shelters from Diu and Gujarat by National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) with the help of civil police and civil administration on Wednesday in the wake of Cyclone Vayu.Western Railways (WR) has also taken various safety and security precautions for train passengers in cyclone-prone areas of Veraval, Okha, Porbandar, Bhavnagar, Bhuj and Gandhidham.All passenger and express trains to these stations are being short terminated from 6 pm on June 12 till the morning of June 14. The coaching stock presently available at depots and station yards at coastal areas is being shifted to safe places. Special trains with six to ten coaches each will be formed, to be kept in ready condition at a nearest safe location to be moved in emergency conditions.Apart from this, WR Headquarter office and Divisions have been instructed for better coordination with state authorities for passenger convenience. Round the clock manning of Emergency control office at HQ and ..
After tyre burst, SpiceJet aircraft makes safe landing in Jaipur
Timely co-ordination by pilots and the air traffic control (ATC) helped avert a major tragedy at the Jaipur airport on Wednesday, when a SpiceJet aircraft make a safe landing after one of its tyres burst while taking off from Dubai.
Five-year-old boy dies from Ebola in Uganda: health official
A five-year-old boy who tested positive for Ebola in Uganda has died, a health ministry official told AFP Wednesday, in the first spread of a deadly outbreak in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. "The boy who tested positive for Ebola in Kasese yesterday passed on last night in the isolation unit," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.