Page 370 - Disaster Accident
4 killed in Delhi fire
Four people were killed on Monday as a massive fire enveloped a factory here, an official said.
Provide aid to Tamil Nadu, CPI-M tells Centre
The CPI-M on Monday urged the Central government to provide adequate financial help to Tamil Nadu where it said about 50 persons had died after a major cyclone.
Lady Gaga likely to visit Malibu house after Thanksgiving
American singer-songwriter Lady Gaga, who is one of the many celebrities who had to evacuate their homes after Woolsey fire began to wreak havoc in Malibu, still hasn't been able to return to her house.Though evacuation orders have been lifted in most of Malibu, Gaga told Variety at Sunday night's Academy Governor's Awards that she probably won't be back in her house until after Thanksgiving.While her house was spared from the massive fire, Gaga said that the fire had nonetheless burned parts of her property. "I am so grateful for the firefighters who put them out," she added.Other houses in her neighbourhood, which are situated across Pacific Coast Highway from the ocean, were damaged or completely destroyed. she said.The fire, which has now been 91 per cent contained, has destroyed approximately 1400 structures in Malibu, Agoura and Calabasas areas.On Saturday (local time), Gaga visited L.A. County Fire Station 27 with her childhood friend, Bo O'Connor, and bought food for the ...
3 die as car falls into gorge in Uttarkashi
At least three persons were killed when the car in which they were travelling fell into a gorge in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi on Monday, a day after 14 people were killed in a bus accident in the district. The car was on its way to Dehradun from Purola when it apparently lost control on the Naugaon-Purola road and fell into a gorge, police said. A man and a woman died on the spot, while another man succumbed to his injuries at a community health centre, said Purola police station incharge Ravi Prasad Kavi. The deceased have been identified as Rina (50), her son, Chirag (26), and Nitin (27), he said. On Sunday, 14 people were killed and as many injured when the bus they were travelling in fell into a 150-metre deep gorge near Damta, an official had said.
Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu orders safety audit of all airlines: TV
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's civil aviation minister has ordered a safety audit of all domestic airlines, including struggling carrier Jet Airways Ltd, news channel CNBC-TV18 reported on Monday.
Overflowing lakes carved canyons across Mars: Study
Water overflowing from ancient lakes on Mars created catastrophic floods that rapidly carved canyons on the red planet over three billion years ago, a study has found. The findings suggest that catastrophic geologic processes may have had a major role in shaping the landscape of Mars and other worlds without plate tectonics, said Tim Goudge, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Texas at Austin in the US. "These breached lakes are fairly common and some of them are quite large, some as large as the Caspian Sea," said Goudge, lead author of the study published in the journal Geology. "So we think this style of catastrophic overflow flooding and rapid incision of outlet canyons was probably quite important on early Mars' surface," he said. From studying rock formations from satellite images, scientists know that hundreds of craters across the surface of Mars were once filled with water. More than 200 of these "paleolakes" have outlet canyons tens to hundreds of kilometers long .
Lady Gaga still not back home after California wildfire
Singer-actress Lady Gaga, who had to evacuate during the raging wildfire in California, says she still hasnt been able to return to her home.
Evacuations urged near Guatemala's erupting Volcano of Fire
Disaster coordination authorities have asked eight communities in Guatemala to evacuate and go to safe areas after an increased eruption of the Volcano of Fire. The volcano is located between the departments of Escuintla, Chimaltenango and Sacatepquez in the south-central part of the country. David de Len, spokesman for the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction, told The Associated Press that at least eight communities should leave. De Len said monitoring of the volcano's activity during the day showed the intensity of the eruption was being maintained, so the evacuation was called for to protect people. An eruption of the volcano in June killed 194 people and left at least 234 missing, although organisations supporting the communities have insisted there are thousands of missing persons.
14 killed in Vietnam floods
At least 14 people were killed in floods and landslides caused by typhoon Toraji over the weekend in Vietnam, authorities said on Monday.
Delhi air quality remains 'poor,' might dip in coming days
The air quality in the national capital remained under 'poor' category at various places as people woke up to a hazy morning on Monday.Though the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi improved on Monday (272) as compared to Sunday (326), the thick smog continued to engulf the national capital and is expected to make the situation worse in coming days, according to System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR).An AQI between 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 is satisfactory, 101-200 moderate, 201-300 poor, 301-400 very poor and 401-500 is marked as severe/hazardous.The India Meteorological Department has advised people to restrict outdoor activities, especially those having breathing issues.Apart from vehicular and industrial pollution practices like residue crop burning and use of bio-mass, such as cow-dung, wood and coal, also aid air pollution. With a large population relying on these practices, efforts to curb the menace of pollution need stringent measures.
Fire at Varanasi airport
A fire broke out at the Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport here in Uttar Pradesh on Monday at the Air India ticket selling counter creating panic, police said.
California wildfire death toll rises to 77
Authorities say one more set of human remains has been found, bringing the total number killed in a devastating California wildfire to 77. A state incident report released Sunday evening says the flames destroyed more than 10,500 homes. Over a thousand names remain on a list of those unaccounted for after the so-called Camp Fire swept through the rural town of Paradise on November 8. Authorities stressed that many of those may be safe and unaware they have been reported missing. Hundreds of volunteers are sifting through ash and debris, searching for human remains before expected rains complicate their efforts. The predicted downpours could wash away telltale fragments of bone, or turn loose, dry ash into a thick paste that would frustrate the search. The fire was 65 per cent contained Sunday. Crews searching for remains of people after the devastating Northern California wildfire are stepping up their efforts ahead of rains forecast for later this week that could complicate their ...
Landslides kill 13, leave 4 missing in south central Vietnam
Landslides due to rains from a tropical storm have killed 13 people and left four others missing in south-central Vietnam. A disaster official in Khanh Hoa province says some 600 soldiers have been mobilised to search for the missing and evacuate people from high-risk areas. He said the landslides from heavy rains triggered by Tropical Storm Toraji collapsed several houses and buried the victims in some villages in the resort city of Nha Trang on Sunday. The storm weakened to a tropical depression at sea off the south central coastal province of Binh Thuan and Ninh Thuan on Sunday night, the Vietnam Disaster Management Authority said in a statement Monday. Vietnam is prone to floods and storms which kill hundreds of people each year.
China adds two new satellites to BeiDou Navigation System
China has added two more satellites to its BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) which rivals the US Global Positioning System (GPS). The satellites were launched into space on a Long March-3B carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in Sichuan Province Monday night. The satellites entered a medium earth orbit more than three hours later and will work with 17 other BDS-3 satellites already in space, state run Xinhua news agency reported. With the successful launch, the basic BDS constellation deployment is complete, the report said. China plans to provide navigation services with the BDS-3 to the Belt and Road partner countries by the end of this year, marking a key step toward a global navigation service, it said. Named after the Chinese term for the Big Dipper, the BeiDou system started serving China in 2000 and the Asia-Pacific region in 2012. It will be the fourth global satellite navigation system after the US GPS system, Russia's GLONASS and the European ...
China launches twin BeiDou navigation satellites
China on Monday sent two new satellites of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) into space on a Long March-3B carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province.
Searchers in California wildfire step up efforts before rain
Volunteers in white coveralls, hard hats and masks poked through ash and debris, searching for the remains of victims of the devastating Northern California wildfire before rains that are forecast for this week complicate their efforts. While the predicted downpour could help tamp down the blazes that have killed 76 people so far, they also could wash away telltale fragments of bone, or turn loose, dry ash into a thick paste that would frustrate the search. A team of 10 volunteers went from burned house to burned house Sunday in the devastated town of Paradise, accompanied by a cadaver dog with a bell on its collar that jingled in the grim landscape. The members of the team scrutinized the rubble in five-minute sweeps, using sticks to move aside debris and focused on vehicles, bathtubs and what was left of mattresses. When no remains were found, they spray-painted a large, orange '0'' near the house. Up to 400 people were involved in the overall search and recovery effort. Robert ...
Strong undersea quake off Fiji, but no tsunami
A 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Fiji Monday, the United States Geological Survey said, but it was too deep to cause any damage. It was centred 534 kilometres (331 miles) deep and 283 kilometres east of the capital Suva where residents said they did not notice any shaking. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no tsunami threat from the tremor which occurred at 9.25 am (2025 GMT Sunday). The area is prone to deep undersea earthquakes and was hit with a 7.8-magnitude tremor two months ago. Fiji sits within the "Ring of Fire", a zone of tectonic activity around the Pacific that is subject to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
Earthquake of magnitude 6.7 in Fiji
A high-intensity earthquake of magnitude 6.7 hit the town of Lambasa of the island nation Fiji on Sunday.According to United States Geological Survey (USGS), the quake occurred at 8:25 pm (UTC).The temblor originated at a depth of 533.6 km. There are no reports of damage or casualties so far. No tsunami warning has been issued.In September, an earthquake measuring 6.2 magnitude on the Richter scale struck Fiji Islands region.Fiji is located in the Ring of Fire, an area in the basin of the Pacific Ocean, which is vulnerable to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
Cyclone 'Gaja': Stalin asks partymen to provide aid in full swing
DMK chief M K Stalin appealed party cadres and legislators on Sunday to provide aid on a war-footing in districts affected with cyclone 'Gaja'. In a party statement here, Stalin said, "It was consoling to know that some party supporters have already started to take part in relief and rehabilitation work." The opposition party leader in the assembly took a dig at the ruling AIADMK government that it did not learn to take up relief activities despite facing several natural calamities like cyclone 'Ockhi' and 'Vardah' in the past. "In this hour of crisis, it is our duty to provide relief materials in full swing to the affected people. I, therefore, appeal party cadres, legislators, district secretaries to collect the necessary relief materials and send them to our Tiruchirappalli, Kalaignar Arivalayam (office) immediately," he said. Stalin said the collected relief material will be distributed to the affected people from these offices. According to the Tamil Nadu government, 45 people ...
PM condoles loss of lives in Uttarakhand bus accident
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday condoled the deaths of fourteen people in a bus accident in Uttarakhand. In a tweet, he termed the accident in Uttarkashi "deeply unfortunate". "My thoughts are with the bereaved families and prayers with the injured," he said. Fourteen people were killed and as many injured Sunday when their bus fell into a 150-metre deep gorge in Uttarkashi district.