Page 367 - Disaster Accident
Fire in Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute, no casualty
A fire broke out in the genetic research wing of Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute (CNCI) here Tuesday but there was no report of any casualty, Fire Brigade officials said. The fire broke out in the genetic research wing which is housed in a building adjacent to the main hospital building in the Kalighat area of the city, they said. The fire triggered panic among the patients and relatives in the hospital building initially but no evacuation was needed and the minor blaze was put off in half an hour time by three fire tenders, a fire brigade official said. The fire brigade personnel suspect that the flame could have originated from a meter box in the block housing the genetic research wing. There was no report of any casualty in the flames, the official added. A fire also broke out at a multi-storied building at Topsia area in eastern part of the city on Tuesday morning, the official said. Two fire tenders contained the flames in half an hour after evacuating people
Fire breaks out at YMCA building
A fire broke out on the fourth and fifth floors of the YMCA building in central Delhi on Tuesday, the Delhi Fire Service said. A call about the fire was received at 6.18 pm, and five fire tenders were rushed to the spot. The blaze has been brought under control, a senior officer of the Delhi Fire Service said. No injury or casualty has been reported so far, the official said, adding the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
Rijiju asks states to shed differences while dealing with disaster
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju Tuesday asked the states to shed their differences while dealing with disasters and asked them to allocate more funds for disaster management. Addressing a workshop on 'Role of Media in Disaster Management', Rijiju said India is prone to natural disasters which calls for greater responsibilities and role to be played by everyone. The issue of lack of coordination during disaster should be addressed and states should give priority and allocate adequate funds for disaster management, he said. The Union Minister of State for Home said there was a need to look at disaster management in a more professional manner. Rijiju said there are three aspects to tackle any disaster -- pre, during and post disaster. The reaction is mainly focussed on the disaster aspect, while the focus should be on the first aspect, pre-disaster phase, and preventive steps should be taken to mitigate the effects of disasters, he said. The minister said the Home Ministry has always ...
Maximum oil spilled has been recovered: Coast Guard
Days after spillage of fuel furnace oil occurred off the coast here, the Coast Guard Tuesday said maximum oil spilled has been "recovered." Deployment of a specialised pollution control vessel 'Samudra Paheredar' proved critical during the operation, a coast guard (CG) release said. Five other ships and a CG helicopter were deployed for the clean-up operation, it said. "...maximum oil has been recovered, the remaining traces are being recovered/dispersed," the CG said. Spillage of Fuel Furnace Oil occurred early Sunday when 'MT Coral Stars,' an oil tanker vessel was offloading it through a 'flexible hose' in Kamarajar port, at Ennore near here. "Spilled FFO becomes highly viscous chocolate coloured mousse owing to weathering," the CG said, adding that specialised equipment onboard 'Samudra Paheredar' proved critical for recovering the thick oil mousse and preventing it from reaching the shores. "Operations Centre of Coast Guard Region (East), Chennai maintained 24 x 7 ...
Coast Guard ships recover most of spilled oil from sea
Six Indian Coast Guard ships are involved in containing oil spilled by tanker Coral Stars at Kamarajar Port, in Ennore near Chennai, on November 18, sources said.
Jharkhand declares 129 blocks in 18 districts as drought hit
The Jharkhand Cabinet Tuesday approved a proposal declaring 129 blocks in the states 18 districts as drought-hit. Following loss of agriculture because of late arrival of south-west monsoon, delay in sowing and hail storm in September, the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Raghubar Das, approved 129 blocks in 18 districts as drought-hit, an official release said here. Jharkhand has 24 districts. Das had said on Monday that 129 blocks in 18 districts of the state has been affected by drought and the state government had sent a report to the Centre in that regard.
Badrinath shrine shuts for winter break
The portals of the Badrinath temple were closed for the winter break on Tuesday amid rituals and chanting of hymns, authorities said. The gates were closed at 3:21 p.m.
Rajini tells Makkal Mandram to disburse relief materials
: Actor Rajinikanth Tuesday told the office-bearers of Rajini Makkal Mandram to disburse about Rs 50 lakh worth of relief materials in cyclone Gaja-affected districts of Tamil Nadu. The Rajini Makkal Mandram is seen as a precursor to the proposed political party to be launched by the actor. Meanwhile, LYCA Production Pvt Ltd which has produced several films, including the upcoming Rajinikanth-starrer '2.0', said the production house would contribute Rs one crore to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund to take up relief activities in the cyclone-affected areas. A total of 46 people has lost their lives in the cyclone which has left a trail of destriction in over 10 districts in the southern parts of the State. On Monday, the state government announced a cash assistance of Rs 8,800 to each of the families in relief camps besides supplying 10 kg of rice and four litres of kerosene.
6 perish in Maharashtra Army dump blast
The toll in the blast at Army's ammunition depot in Wardha of Maharashtra has shot up to six, officials said here on Tuesday. Another 10 persons are injured, including four seriously.
Society faces much larger threat from climate change than perceived
East-West Center researchers Abby Frazier and Keith Bettinger are among the authors of the study published in Nature Climate Change.
MSF slams Italian prosecutors for ordering to seize Aquarius over toxic waste allegations
Humanitarian organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF, or Doctors Without Borders) has condemned the decision of Italian prosecutors to seize the Aquarius migrant rescue vessel over accusations of alleged illicit disposal of hazardous on-board waste.Earlier in the day, media reported that prosecutors from the Italian city of Catania, located in Sicily, had ordered to seize the vessel and identified more than 20 suspects who had been allegedly repeatedly disposing of hazardous waste, which accumulated during the ship's relief activities."We strongly condemn the decision by Italian judicial authorities to request the seizure of the Aquarius for alleged anomalies in its disposal of on-board waste. It's a disproportionate & unfounded measure aimed at criminalizing lifesaving medical-humanitarian action at sea," the MSF said via its official Twitter account.The organization also said in a separate tweet that such allegations hampered relief activities and discouraged ships from ...
Shocking Macau racing car accident rings safety alarm bells
Questions are being asked about safety standards in motorsports after a horrifying crash at the Macau Grand Prix on Sunday led to 17-year-old German driver Sophia Floersch undergoing seven hours of spinal surgery. Why is the Macau Grand Prix dangerous? ====================================== Motorcycle and racing car Grand Prix have been held for over 60 years in Macau, a town with the reputation as being the Asian Las Vegas, and the Formula 3 race in which German racer Floersch hurtled into marshals and photographers after flying off the track on Sunday is the most popular race of all. Raced over a temporary circuit at Guia, the 6.2-kilometre track is dotted with long straights where speeds of 275km/h are the norm, which are then coupled with tight, blind corners. As with most urban circuits the roads are narrow and there are few safety exits. Any driver losing control on a corner or chicane will almost certainly hit the barriers and those behind will find it almost impossible to ...
Cyclone 'Gaja': Pon Radhakrishnan visits affected areas in TN
Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan Tuesday visited the areas affected by cyclonic storm 'Gaja' in the district and said he would apprise the Centre of the extensive damage caused by it. He interacted with a section of people accommodated in a relief camp in one of the worst-hit Thirutharapoondi and consoled them. Talking to reporters after carry out inspection of the affected areas, Minister of State for Finance and Shipping said coconut trees have been uprooted in several areas. Paddy crops have been submerged and huts completely damaged. He said he would apprise the UnionHome Ministry about the damages caused by the cyclone. The cyclone crossed the coast near Vedaranyam in Nagapattinam district, about 300 km from Chennai, with a speed of up to 120 kmph last Friday, claiming 46 lives and leaving a trail of destruction in over 10 districts in southern Tamil Nadu.
Karunanidhi's ancestral house damaged in cyclone
The ancestral house of late DMK chief M Karunanidhi's family at Thirukuvalai village near here has suffered damage in the 'Gaja' cyclone, officials said Tuesday. A tree in front of the house got uprooted and fell on the house damaging the tiled roof and a name board, they said. The house is being maintained as a memorial and a library. The cyclone crossed the Tamil Nadu coast near Vedaranyam in neighbouring Nagapattinam district on November 16 causing extensive damage and claiming 46 lives.
One dead, 44 hurt as landslide derails train in Spain
One person was killed and 44 others were injured, three seriously, on Tuesday when a commuter train derailed near Barcelona due to a landslide caused by heavy rains, emergency services and Spain's rail operator said. Two carriages of a convoy of six came off the tracks at 6:15 am (local time) near the town of Vacarisses, 35 kilometres northeast of Barcelona, emergency services said on Twitter. Of the 131 people on board, 41 were lightly injured, three were seriously injured and one person died, it added. Images broadcast on Spanish television showed rescue workers evacuating passengers. Rocks piled up on the side of one carriage. The train, which was travelling between Manresa and Barcelona, derailed due to a landslide following several days of heavy rain in the region, train operator Adif said in a statement. The area was fitted with netting to hold back rocks "but it did not resist the landslide," Transport Minister Jose Luis Abalos told news radio Cadena Ser. He said his ministry ..
IIT-KGP developing mechanism to extract crucial info from
A research team of the IIT Kharagpur has been developing a mechanism to filter critical situational information from social media during disasters from tonnes of other data. During a disaster, people such as victims and on-site empathisers flood social media platforms with real-time information, but the huge volume of posts makes it difficult for one to locate relevant messages from the spot, an IIT-KGP statement said on Tuesday. While the critical information is "less than two per cent", the problem is compounded as the posts often contain informal language without any grammar, arbitrary shortening of words and images. The research team from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the institute is developing the algorithms keeping all of these in mind. The algorithms would be able to search various social media handles with wide access and give situational information from English and Hindi posts, the statement said. "Summarisation is important because the
Cyclone Gaja: Stalin tears into TN CM
President of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) M. K. Stalin on Tuesday slammed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappai K Palaniswami for not spending enough time with the victims of Cyclone Gaja.The statement from Stalin came just a few hours after the state Chief Minister accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam paid visit to Gaja-hit Pudukkottai area and distributed relief material to the people residing in the relief camps.Speaking to media, "After five days, Chief Minister went to Trichy from where he took a helicopter. He went to two- three places in the protection of party workers. Distribution of relief material and pictures were all a setup. If weather was bad, he could have waited there for few days, why cut short visit?."Stalin on Monday announced Rs 1 crore financial assistance for the relief and rehabilitation work in cyclone Gaja hit areas in eight districts of the state.Stalin also declared that his party members of the Rajya Sabha and Legislative Assembly will also .
Climate change poses bigger threat than thought: Study
Humanity faces a much larger threat from climate change than previously thought, according to a study unveiled Monday. The study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, provides one of the most comprehensive assessments yet of how humanity is being impacted by the simultaneous occurrence of multiple climate hazards strengthened by increasing greenhouse gas emissions. An analysis of thousands of peer-reviewed scientific papers reveals 467 ways in which human health, food, water, economy, infrastructure, and security have been impacted by multiple climatic changes. These changes include warming, drought, heatwaves, wildfires, precipitation, floods, storms, sea level rise and changes in land cover and ocean chemistry, said researchers from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in the US. Until now, with few exceptions, climate hazards due to greenhouse gas emissions have been studied individually. However, focusing on one or few hazards may mask the impacts of other hazards ...
Maoists torch 2 vehicles in Jharkhand
Maoists set two trucks on fire in Jharkhand's Latehar district on Tuesday, police said.
Maharashtra: 6 dead in ammunition factory blast
At least six people died in the explosion at Pulgaon Army depot in Wardha on Tuesday, officials said.The deceased include an ammunition factory employee and three labourers.The blast occurred at 7 am today morning at the Army depot while unloading ammunition of 23mm at the demolition ground at the CAD, Pulgaon. The demolition ground was given to Ordnance Factory, Khamaria for their demolition activities. The blast occurred during the disposal process."While carrying out the demolition of old explosives by the staff of Ordnance Factory Khamaria, Jabalpur at the demolition land in Pulgaon there was an accident. In the incident, three labourers and one staff of ordnance lost lives," said BB Pande, Defence PRO.