Page 560 - Disaster Accident

Transgenders in Tirupur send relief to flood-hit Kerala

A group of transgenders in neighbouring Tirupur today contributed its mite to the flood-affected people of Kerala by donating food and other materials. The materials, worth Rs 30,000, were handed over to the district Social Welfare Officer Poongothai, official sources said. The items included flour, edible oil, biscuits and sanitary napkins, they said.

Production at two plants in Kerala affected by floods: Apollo Tyres

Apollo Tyres today said production at its two plants in Kerala has been disrupted due to the floods in the state. Production operations of the company's plants located at Perambra and Kalamassery, Kerala have been disrupted due to the floods, Apollo Tyres said in a BSE filing. "The production loss due to this natural calamity is 1,500 MT (approximately) till today. However, consequential loss of profit is not significant," it added. The company produces commercial vehicle tyres and off-highway tyres at the two plants. The state is facing the worst flood in 100 years and it has claimed 216 lives since August 8, displacing over 7.24 lakh people, who are now sheltered in 5,645 relief camps dotting the state.

A train journey that gave a glimpse into Kerala flood havoc

Rows of submerged houses, paddy fields under sheets of water and Pamba river in spate bear testimony to the devastating floods in Kerala. A train journey from Ernakulam to Thiruvananthapuram, which usually presents a picture of greenery all along, gave a peep into the tragedy that befell the residents, especially in worst hit Chengannur in Alapuzha district, and other areas. Train services to the state capital which remained suspended in the section as also in several others from August 15 in the wake of the unprecedented floods that ravaged the state, claiming 216 lives in the last 11 days, resumed yesterday. A PTI correspondent who travelled by the first train saw the destruction caused by the floods, the worst in a century, through the journey as houses and fields were under water on both sides of the track. The train was empty as it chugged out of the Ernakulam station, but became crowded when it reached Chengannur, about 70 km away, with displaced people boarding it

'Seven dead as landslide hits two vehicles in JK's Kishtwar'

Seven persons, including a policeman, were killed and 12 others injured today as the two vehicles they were travelling in, came under a massive landslide on Doda-Kishtwar highway in the district, a senior police officer said. A mini bus and a car plying on the road were hit with massive boulders and debris, which came tumbling down a hillock at Kulligad at 10.45 am, Senior Superintendent of Police Rajinder Kumar Gupta told PTI. Gupta, who led the rescue operations, said seven persons were killed and 12 others were injured in the incident. The condition of one of the injured, Kalyan Singh, was stated to be critical, he said, adding he has been referred to a hospital in Jammu for specialized treatment. Identifying four of the deceased as Constable Kewal Kumar, Udhampur residents Askanta Devi and Amar Singh and Doda native Mohammad Hussain, Gupta said the efforts are on to identify the three others killed in the landslide. The police officer said some of the passengers in the two ...

Rebuilding life a big challenge, say relief camp dwellers

"May God bless them all," says Maria Francis after fumbling for words to express her gratitude for the help she got at a relief camp here for people displaced by Kerala's worst floods in a century. Francis is one of the 256 inmates of the camp at the government school at Panampilly Nagar where she has been staying for the last last four days. "We are concerned only about one thing - getting back to our normal daily lives, wrecked by the unprecedented monsoon rains," she said. Francis, in her late 40s, recalled the anxious moments when flood water entered her home near Chittoor and she was evacuated by boat with some others to a shelter amid floating debris. However, the rising water forced authorities to shift them to the shelter where they are now housed, she said. "We were shifted after water entered my home and those of others. There are people from various parts of Kochi suburbs in the camp. Here we get everything--food, water, clothes and proper medical care. Those .

Shell recovers most oil from Nigerian spills, pipeline still shut

LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell's Nigerian subsidiary has recovered more than 95 percent of the oil from two spills that took place this year, although the pipeline that carries crude to the coast for export remains closed, the company said on Monday.

Kerala floods should be declared national disaster: Antony

Congress Working Committee (CWC) member A.K. Antony on Monday demanded that the Centre immediately declare the Kerala floods as a national disaster.

Govt has asked industrialists, biz organisations to help Kerala deal with floods: Prabhu

The government has asked industrialists and business organisations to provide whatever help they feel is appropriate to flood-affected Kerala, which is facing a "humanitarian crisis", Union minister Suresh Prabhu said today. Prabhu, who holds the portfolios of Commerce and Industry as well as Civil Aviation, also said that domestic airlines have been persuaded to carry cargo free of cost to the state. More than 200 people have died and over 7.24 lakh have been displaced following floods and landslips in Kerala, which has been ravaged by heavy rains in the last one week. Making it clear that the Centre does not want to do "politics" with regard to providing rescue and relief to Kerala, Prabhu said it is only facilitating help. "Govt has asked industrialists and business organisations... to help in whatever (way) they feel is appropriate," Prabhu told PTI in an interview here. On steps being taken to help Kerala, the minister said he has directed the DIPP Secretary to talk to all ...

Ramdev hails rescue operations by security forces

Yoga guru Ramdev on Monday applauded the security forces for their role in rescuing people from the flood-ravaged state of Kerala."It is inspiring to see the way our security forces have worked tirelessly in the flood-affected areas. We all are immensely proud of our security forces that even in an unpleasant situation like this, they never failed to respond to those who are affected," Ramdev told ANI.Further speaking about the relief sent to flood-hit Kerala, he said, "From toothpaste to drinking water, we from the Patanjali have donated an approximate figure of Rs. 50 lakh for the flood victims of Kerala and Karnataka. We will be sending relief materials worth of Rs. one crore in about a week and our aim to clock the figure up to Rs. two crores for the victims in both the states."According to official reports, the death toll in the devastating floods in Kerala has climbed to 357. As the rescue and relief operations continue in the state, Union Tourism Minister KJ Alphons said that ..

Carcasses disposed of in Kerala

Health officials on Monday began disposing of carcasses after numerous animals became victims of the worst ever floods to hit Kerala.

Show large-heartedness in providing aid to flood-hit Kerala: Cong to PM

The Congress today hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that he was playing politics on the issue of flood relief, and asked him to show large-heartedness in providing more central assistance to flood-hit Kerala as the Rs 500-crore aid was "too little, too late". Congress leader Jaiveer Shergill asked the prime minister to declare the Kerala floods as a national calamity. "The large-heartedness Prime Minister Narendra Modi shows in self promotion, advertisement and propaganda, he should show the same large-heartedness towards Kerala in giving the relief fund and providing the assistance that it requires. "...(the aid announced by the prime minister) is a classic case of too little, too late. A state which is witnessing a disaster of over Rs 19,000 crore has only got a paltry sum of Rs 500 crore from Narendra Modi who has spent Rs 5,000 crore on his self-promotion and publicity, Rs 35 crore on his fitness videos, Rs 1,100 crore on BJP headquarters," he said. Shergill said .

Stellar launches free data recovery consultation service for Kerala

Data recovery solutions provider Stellar on Monday announced free data recovery consultation service for people affected in flood-ravaged Kerala and other states, after it received multiple service requests from these areas.

City Keralites collecting funds, relief materials for flood

With hundreds of people dead and lakhs other homeless in Kerala due to floods, various Malayali and Keralite associations in Kolkata are collecting funds and reliefs materials for the flood victims in their state. These association run by Keralite people residing in Kolkata have started a relief drive for the flood victims in their state. "We have started collecting relief materials and funds. Hopefully we would be able to send them to Kerala by this week. The entire agricultural sector has been badly affected in the floods," said T K Gopalnan, Trustee, Kolkata Kairali Samajam. "We have already identified the areas where relief materials would be sent. We are also in touch with some schools where the relief materials will be kept so that it can be distributed," he said. An official of Kolkata Kairali Samajam said they along with other Malayali associations had a meeting with the officials of Kolkata police to chalk out a way to send relief materials to Kerala. "The ...

Arunachal to donate Rs three crore to Kerala

The Arunachal Pradesh government has announced to contribute Rs 3 crore to Kerala Chief Ministers Distress Relief Fund in the wake of recent devastating floods in the southern state. Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister @Pemakhandubjp announces Rs 3 crore as immediate assistance from Chief Ministers Relief Fund for the Kerala flood and expressed solidarity with the people in Kerala in this trying time. #KeralaFloods, the CMO Arunachal wrote on Twitter. People of Arunachal Pradesh and Kerala have a very strong bond since long. In this trying time we are with the families of all the victims of the #kerelaFloods. @vijayanpinarayi, Khandu tweeted.

Month after ROB collapse: Rlys orders third party audit of its bridges

The railways for the first time will allow third party audits of its bridges, a month after one of its road over bridges collapsed in Andheri in Mumbai injuring five, two of whom died later, a senior official of the ministry said. The general managers of all the zones have been asked to fix specialised national or even international agencies to conduct these technical audits. "The board has said the present system of inspections of bridges is considered adequate and they will be continue, but keeping in view the incidents of part collapse/failure of ROBs, railway bridge and FoBs it has been decided to conduct third party audit of identified and critical bridges for an independent expert view," the official said. Zonal railways has been advised to carry out one-time audit which would include under-water inspection, non-destructive testing, design adequacy for present day loading, including earthquake force. Post the July 3 collapse, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal had ordered the Indian .

Worried for flood-affected families but Kerala athletes carry on at Asiad

The tragedy unfolding in the aftermath of the Kerala floods is finding an echo in faraway Indonesia where athletes from the state have anxiety in their hearts but have their minds focussed on the Asian Games. A swimmer didn't even know of it until a journalist enquired, a sprinter is worried, while a hockey player is just relieved that his family is in a safe zone even though he is heartbroken for the state. India's chef-de-mission at the ongoing Games, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, told PTI in Jakarta that the athletes will be updated on the safety status of their families after seeking the home ministry's assistance. "We will approach the home ministry to find the whereabouts of missing family members of the Kerala athletes. They need support and we want them to compete without taking any load," Singh said. "I know it's difficult when such tragedies happen but we will try to get assuring news for them," he added. Kerala's representation is strong in the Indian teams of athletics, ...

Kerala Floods: Sikh community provides food to victims

Lending a helping hand, volunteers belonging to the Sikh community in Kochi are providing food to people in flood-hit Kerala. Those taking part prepare the food inside Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha and then send it to relief camps.Speaking to ANI, one of the coordinators, who set up the community kitchen inside the Gurudwara said, "We, the Sikh community in Kochi is serving flood-hit victims food in relief camps. In last three days, we have served food to more than a thousand people. We are preparing food inside Gurdwara in hygienic conditions."The coordinator further explained that the process of preparing food starts at around 9 in the morning and continues till 5:30 in the evening. He also said that they cook food keeping the taste of locals in mind.Kerala has been facing the worst flooding in a century, which claimed lives of 357 people. The state has also suffered a loss of Rs 19,512 crore due to the deluge.Various people and organisations across the world have come forward to ...

Fire breaks out at AIIMS, no casualties

A nursing room at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here caught fire on Monday. There are no casualties, the fire office said.

Prisoners prepare chapathis to feed flood victims in Kerala

The inmates of Central Prison here are toiling hard to feed those staying in relief camps across Kerala, where the worst flood of the century has claimed 210 lives since August 8 and displaced over 7 lakh people. Ever since the torrential rains started lashing the state causing massive destruction across its length and breadth, the prisoners began preparing large number of chapathis and vegetable curry for relief camp inmates and those stranded in marooned houses. The Central Prison at Poojappura here has been selling a number of food items including chapathi, vegetable and chicken curries under the brand name 'freedom' on a commercial basis for some years now. The low-cost dishes sold through a number ofcounters in the capital city have many takers. According to jail authorities, an average of 40,000-50,000 chapathis were prepared for flood victims during the peak days last week. Though the work load is too high, around 50 convict prisoners of the chapathi unit were ...

Kerala floods: Odisha IAS,IPS officers to give one-day salary

The IAS Officers Association of Odisha has decided to contribute at least one day's salary of its members to the Kerala Chief Minister's Relief Fund to help the flood-affected people. The association stands as one with the people of Kerala during this crisis and wishes them strength to overcome the tragedy, secretary of the officers' body Sishal Dev said. He also said that the Odisha government has deputed a special team to Kerala to provide humanitarian and disaster assistance to support the people in Kerala, which has been reeling under severe floods. The Odisha IPS Officers Association would also donate one-day salary of its members to the fund, association secretary Satyajit Mohanty said. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had announced financial assistance of Rs 10 crore and ordered polythene sheets worth Rs 8 crore for flood-ravaged Kerala. "Odisha knows what a natural calamity of this magnitude means to the common man," Patnaik had said in a statement. The state