Page 384 - Disaster Accident
Northern California wildfire most destructive in state history
The wildfire that has been raging through northern California since Thursday, which has killed nine people so far, is considered to be the most destructive in the state's history, having destroyed more than 6,500 structures and engulfed nearly the entire city of Paradise, home to 26,000 people.
Death toll tops 200 in DR Congo Ebola outbreak
The death toll from an Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has risen to more than 200, the health ministry said on Sunday. The ministry said it had recorded 201 deaths from the virus and that 291 cases have been confirmed since the outbreak began in August. About half of the cases were in Beni, a city of 800,000 people, in the North Kivu region. The UN's Department of Peacekeeping on Friday called on armed groups active in the region not to hinder efforts to fight the disease. Teams responsible for responding to the outbreak "have faced threats, physical assaults, repeated destruction of their equipment and kidnapping," Health Minister Oly Ilunga said on Friday. "Two of our colleagues in the Rapid Response Medical Unit have even lost their lives in an attack," he said. The outbreak is the tenth in DR Congo since Ebola was first detected there in 1976. Ebola is a serious infectious disease that can spread rapidly through small amounts of bodily fluid, causing ...
Yemen loyalists push deeper into Hodeida as US cuts support
Yemeni government forces pressed further into the strategic port city of Hodeida, seizing its main hospital in heavy fighting Saturday, as their Saudi-led coalition backers put a brave face on an end to US refuelling support. A loyalist official said mortar rounds were "falling like rain" in the streets as troops overcame rebel-laid mines and snipers to take control of the main hospital in the city of some 600,000 people. The rebels have put up fierce resistance to the government advance towards the city's vital docks, which are the point of entry for 80 per cent of Yemen's commercial imports and nearly all UN-supervised humanitarian aid. The grinding Saudi-led war in Yemen has caused growing international unease after high-profile coalition air strikes that have killed scores of civilians, many of them children. The intensified coalition-backed push into Hodeida, which has claimed the lives of at least 382 combatants this month, comes despite aid agency warnings of a humanitarian ...
Mudslide near Rio de Janeiro kills 5, injures 11
Five people were killed and 11 injured in a mudslide near Rio de Janeiro on Saturday, Brazilian authorities said. Roberto Robadey, Rio's civil defense department head, told the Globo TV network that the mudslide in the city of Niteroi was caused by two days of heavy downpours. He said people were killed and injured when a large boulder rolled on top of six houses in the Boa Esperanca neighborhood. Rescue workers were searching for victims and survivors trapped underneath the rubble and mud.
Pilot's error triggers hijack scare on Kandahar-bound plane at Delhi airport
A hijack scare on a Kandahar-bound flight sent security officials at the Delhi international airport into tizzy on Saturday after the pilot "mistakenly" pressed the 'hijack button' when it was taxiing for take-off, officials said. The Ariana Afghan Airlines plane, with nine crew members, 124 passengers and an infant, took off nearly two hours later after "satisfactory" security checks, they said. The officials said Saturday's incident brought back the chilling memories of the 1999 Kandahar hijacking of an Air India plane The pressing of 'hijack button' had pushed all agencies concerned, including the anti-terror force National Security Guard (NSG), into action, they said. NSG commandos and officials of other agencies swiftly responded to the situation and surrounded the aircraft, they said. After a two-hour operation that created panic among the passengers on board the aircraft, the plane was cleared for take-off, they said. The Delhi-Kandahar FG312 flight was scheduled to depart at ..
Moderate quake hits Mizoram
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake rocked parts of Mizoram on Saturday night, the India Meteorological Department said. The quake occurred at 10.45 pm at a depth of 24 km and the epicentre was located at Lat 23.9N and Long 93.3E, in Champhai district, the IMD said on its website. The tremors were also felt in state capital Aizawl, where people rushed out of houses, officials said. There was no immediate report of any casualty or damage to property due to the earthquake, police said.
Under-construction building collapses in Bengaluru, 1 killed
One person was killed after an under-construction building collapsed in Bengaluru's Thyagarajanagar area on Saturday evening."As per the locals, eye-witnesses and the owner of the site, only one person was trapped and we have recovered his body. Hence, we have now closed the rescue operation," Fire Department Officer Varadhanrajan told ANI.The reason behind the incident is yet to be ascertained.More details are awaited.
Three killed, 6 injured in car-bus crash in Maharashtra
Three people were killed on the spot and six others injured in a collision between a car and a private luxury bus near here Saturday evening, said police. The mishap took place at village Bhokani on the Sinnar -Shirdi road, about 70km from here in North Maharashtra, at around 6 pm, an official of the Wavi police station told PTI. The car was proceeding to Sinnar in Nashik district, while the luxury bus was heading towards the temple town of Shirdi in Ahmednagar district when they collided, he said. The crash left three persons dead on the spot, the official said. Six others were injured and later admitted to a local hospital, he added.
9 killed, 19 injured in Bihar road accidents
Nine persons, including three women, were killed and 19 others injured in road accidents in Munger and Khagaria districts of Bihar, police said on Saturday. In Mofussil police station area of Khagaria, a jeep and an auto-rickshaw collided head-on, resulting in the death of four persons, Superintendent of Police Meenu Kumari said. At least 18 persons, who sustained injuries in the accident, are undergoing treatment at Sadar hospital, the SP said, adding, the drivers of the vehicles fled the spot. In Sangrampur police station area of Munger district, five persons were killed and another was injured when two motorcycles collided late on Friday, SHO L B Singh said. All the deceased were aged 25-30 years and residents of villages located under Sangrampur police station area, he said.
Maha drought: Lent support to 5k farmers' families, says Sena
The Shiv Sena Saturday claimed to have distributed food grains and household items to 5,000 families of farmers affected by drought in Maharashtra. A statement issued by the Sena here said farmers in Marathwada and Vidarbha are having to grapple with severe drought conditions during Diwali. "Thus, the Sena is lending a helping hand to 5,000 families of farmers in Amravati, Buldhana, Parbhani, Aurangabad, Akola, Hingoli, Jalna, Beed, Latur, Washim, Nanded, Osmanabad and Yavatmal," it said. As part of its programme, the Sena has distributed 15 kgs wheat and rice, 5 litres edible oil, 5 kgs sugar, 3 kgs dal, 2 kgs rawa and maida, soaps and other household items to them in Diwali, the statement said. On October 31, the state government declared drought in 151 talukas across 26 districts. Of these, 112 are facing "severe drought" and 39 "medium drought". The state comprises 355 talukas, of which 182 were declared "drought-prone" on October 24.
Indonesia calls off search for Lion Air crash victims
Indonesia on Saturday called off the search for passengers of a Lion Air plane, almost two weeks after the jetliner plunged into the Java Sea killing 189 people on board. Some 196 bags containing body parts have been recovered from under the water with 79 victims identified and handed over to their families for burial. "Since yesterday afternoon until today we have not found any more victims and therefore I declare the search and rescue operation is over," Muhammad Syaugi, head of the search and rescue agency, told reporters Saturday. "We apologise to the public, especially the families of victims if during the operation we were not able to satisfy everybody," he added. Rescuers have also retrieved parts of the plane's engines, wheels and seats from the sea. One diver died helping with search. Lion Air has begun paying USD 102,058 compensation money for each passenger to the grieving families. Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee has retrieved one of the black boxes -- .
Hijack scare on Kandahar-bound plane at Delhi airport
A hijack scare on a Kandahar-bound flight sent security officials at the Delhi airport into tizzy on Saturday after the pilot "mistakenly" pressed the 'hijack button' when it was taxiing for take-off, sources said. The Ariana Afghan Airlines plane took off nearly two hours later after "satisfactory" security checks, they said. While there was no immediate official reaction, the sources said the pressing of hijack button had pushed all agencies concerned, including the anti-terror force National Security Guard (NSG), into action. NSG commandos and officials of other agencies swiftly responded to the situation and surrounded the aircraft, they said. After a two-hour operation that created panic among passengers on board the aircraft, the plane was cleared for take-off, the sources said. The Delhi-Kandahar FG312 flight was scheduled to depart at 3.30 pm.
Materials used for KMB to build homes for flood affected
: The materials used for the upcoming Kochi-Muziris Biennale Pavilion would be subsequently utilised to construct houses for the flood-affected in Kerala, organisers of contemporary art festival said. At least a dozen homes of 600 square feet each would be built next summer from the structure that is currently being constructed at Cabral Yard, Fort Kochi in time for the Biennale which starts on December 12, Bose Krishnamachari, founder-president of Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF), said. The Foundation felt an urgent need to contribute to relief and aid efforts after the August deluge and landslides that ravaged the state, the KBF said in a release. "This will be one way of our joining the state government's 'Rebuilding Kerala' mission," Krishnamachari said. The KBF has already announced that a major art auction of the Foundation would be organised for the same purpose. Select paintings, sculptures and installations of more than 40 artists in India and abroad would go ...
Strong quake hits off Tonga; no injuries reported
A strong earthquake has hit off the Pacific island nation of Tonga, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage. The US Geological Survey says the magnitude 6.2 quake hit Saturday evening at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles). The quake struck 98 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Pangai, Tonga. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has not issued a warning. Tonga is prone to earthquakes and sits on the "Ring of Fire," the arc of seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean where most of the world's quakes and volcanic activity occur.
Death toll from floods in Jordan rises to 11
The number of fatalities from mudslides caused by floods in Jordan has climbed to 11, the Jordanian government spokeswoman, Jumana Ghunaimat, said in a statement on Saturday.The floods have affected Jordanian western province of Madaba and southeastern province of Maan. Seven people were reported dead before."The relevant services have rescued two citizens in the Al-Wala area ... The rescuers have also found the body of one of those people who had been registered as missing, and thus the number of fatalities has climbed to 11," Ghunaimat said.She went on to say that hundreds of civil defence servicemen were currently engaged in search and rescue operations. Two people are currently reported missing.On Friday, all the visitors of the Petra Archaeological Park in southern Jordan have been evacuated and the site has been closed amid the heavy rains and flooding. The number of those evacuated reached 3,700, according to local media reports.
Death toll in Jordan flash floods rises to 11
Official media say the death toll from flash floods unleashed by heavy rains in Jordan has risen to 11, and that searches for missing people continue. Saturday's reports came a day after floods struck in several areas of Jordan, including Petra, an ancient trading hub carved into rose-coloured rock. Hundreds of Petra visitors ran for higher ground Friday as water surged through a narrow canyon leading to the Treasury, Petra's main attraction. Government spokeswoman Jumana Ghuneimat and Civil Defense officials say the death toll rose early Saturday, after another body was found in the Madaba region south of the capital of Amman. They said searches for the missing are continuing. Friday's floods came two weeks after flash floods near the Dead Sea killed 21 people, most of them children.
Flash floods in Jordan kill 11
At least 11 people have been killed in flash floods unleashed by heavy rain in Jordan and more than 3,700 tourists have been evacuated from the ancient city of Petra.
4 injured as train hits tractor at unmanned crossing in UP
Four persons were injured when a passenger train hit a tractor at an unmanned level crossing here Saturday, a Railway Protection Force (RPF) official said. The incident occurred between Korari and Achalganj railway stations and the injured included the driver of the tractor and three passengers of the Kanpur bound Rae Bareli passenger train. According RPF inspector S N Misra, the passengers were standing at the door of the bogey and received injuries in their legs. They were admitted to the district hospital. Due to the impact, the tractor trolley fell into a roadside ditch near the track but the injured driver escaped from the spot, Misra said. After stopping for about half an hour, the train resumed its journey, Misra said, adding that a case was registered.
Mughal road opens for one-way, Poonch-Shopian, traffic after eight days closure
Mughal road, connecting the twin districts of Poonch and Rajouri in Jammu region with south Kashmir's Shopian, was opened for one-way traffic on Saturday after remaining closed for eight days owing to heavy snowfall, a senior official said. Deputy Superintendent of Police, traffic, Mohammad Rafiq said only Shopian bound traffic was allowed on the road from Buflaiz (Poonch) while no vehicle was permitted to ply from the opposite direction. The road was closed for vehicular traffic on November 3 following heavy snowfall along high altitude Peer Ki Gali during which over 120 stranded passengers were evacuated to safety in a night-long rescue operation. The road was cleared for one-way traffic after a massive snow clearance operation. Over 70 vehicles, mostly trucks, which had got struck in the snow, were allowed to move towards their destinations yesterday, the officer told PTI. He said given the prediction of fresh snowfall from November 12 onwards, the authorities are monitoring the ...
Minor fire in SBI branch
A minor fire broke out at the State Bank of Indias Bapuji Nagar branch here on Saturday morning, fire brigade sources said. The local people of Bapuji Nagar spotted smoke on the third floor of the bank branch and informed the fire services. Two fire engines immediately reached the spot and managed to douse the flames after one hour, they said. The fire had broken out at the record room and Aadhaar room of the bank. Documents in these two rooms and some computers were damaged in the fire, the sources said. Several important documents and records of the bank customers were reportedly gutted in the fire but there was no major damage, the sources said. The fire could be due to a short circuit, they added.