Page 573 - Disaster Accident
UN chief 'saddened' over destruction caused by Kerala flood
UN chief Antonio Guterres has expressed sadness over the flooding and extensive damage and displacement caused in rain-battered Kerala. Kerala is witnessing the worst flooding in 100 years. About 80 dams have overflowed and more than 300 lives have been lost. Over 3.14 lakh people have been moved to relief camps. "Our humanitarian colleagues as well as the country team in India have been following the recent floods very closely. The United Nations is of course saddened by the loss of life, destruction and displacement caused by floods in India," Stephane Dujarric, the UN Secretary-Generals spokesperson, told reporters here yesterday. When asked if the UN been asked for help in India in the Kerala floods, he said the world body has not received any direct request from the Indian Government for aid. "As you know, India has quite a well-operated machinery to deal with natural disasters but of course our country team I was in touch with our Resident Coordinator today they're following ..
Chinese plane pulled from mud at Philippine airport
A Chinese plane that slid off the runway at Manila airport was removed from the muddy spot where it had been stuck for more than a day, officials said, allowing normal operations to resume today. Around 165 international and local flights were cancelled on Friday and Saturday at the Philippine capital's main airport after the plane's bumpy landing, said airport media officer Connie Bungag. The Xiamen Airlines aircraft landed on its second attempt before skidding onto the grass, ripping off its left engine and blocking the runway late Thursday evening. The 157 passengers and eight crew aboard were able to disembark without suffering any major injuries. Moving the plane was complicated by heavy rains that softened the ground, making it difficult to install the two cranes needed to lift the aircraft, officials said. By noon on Saturday, flights had resumed their normal schedule, but some passengers were not impressed by the speed of the recovery operation. "At last," tweeted one ...
Kerala Floods: Modi begins aerial survey as weather clears
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday began his aerial survey of the massive loss and destruction triggered by the torrential rains in Kerala, after it was initially called off due to bad weather.
40 Nepalese pilgrims injured in Varanasi accident
Forty Nepalese pilgrims were injured in a road accident in Varanasi, police said on Saturday.
Odisha urges Kerala to assist stranded Odia labourers
In the wake of a distress call by some Odia people in flood-hit Kerala, the Odisha government has requested the southern state to provide assistance to 130 labourers from the state in Odapally, official sources said. The Odisha government's request followed an alert from one Anil Sethi who informed that about 130 labourers from Odisha, who have taken shelter in a house at Aluva Munnar Road, Odapally, near Asha Munnar Post Office, were not able to get food and drinking water. "I would, therefore, request you to kindly make necessary arrangement for providing support in terms of food, drinking water and other necessities to the flood affected people from Odisha." the state's Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) B P Sethi said in a letter to P H Kurian, Additional Chief Secretary, Disaster Management, Kerala, yesterday. The Odisha government also set up helplines in the special relief commissioner's office here to help the people in distress. Any person from Odisha who has ...
SBI contributes Rs 2 cr for flood-hit Kerala
The State Bank of India (SBI) has donated Rs 2 crore for the Kerala flood victims and initiated several other ground-level measures in the deluged state, an official said on Saturday.
PM reviews flood situation in Kerala
Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed today the flood situation in rain-battered Kerala at a high-level meeting in Kochi. Earlier, there were reports that the prime minister's helicopter could not take-off for an aerial survey of flood affected areas due to bad weather. But, there was no official confirmation from the state and the Union government. "The prime minister is reviewing the flood situation in Kerala at a high-level meeting. @CMOKerala," the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) tweeted. Modi, after an overnight stay in the state capital, left for Kochi this morning for the aerial survey and the review meeting to get a first-hand knowledge of the enormity of the mayhem caused by the southwest monsoon. Meanwhile, rains lashing several parts of the state since this morning is causing concern as it could hamper the rescue and relief operations. Chengannur in Pathnamthitta, Chalakudy in Thrissur and various parts of Ernakulam district are among the worst hit where rescue efforts are
Strong, deep earthquake shakes area off Indonesia; no damage
A strong earthquake located far below the Earth's surface shook an area in Indonesia's Flores Sea, causing shaking on land but no damage, officials said. The US Geological Survey said the quake yesterday had a preliminary magnitude of 6.5 and was located 109 kilometers northwest of the village of Kampungbajo in central Indonesia at a depth of 539 kilometers. Deep earthquakes generally cause less damage. The national disaster agency said the earthquake was felt widely, including on Lombok Island where more than 400 died in a magnitude 7 quake earlier this month. It said no damage was reported and the quake didn't have the potential to cause a tsunami. Indonesia is prone to earthquakes because of its location on the "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin. In December 2004, a massive magnitude 9.1 earthquake off Sumatra in western Indonesia triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries.
Guterres 'saddened' by Kerala flood toll; UN monitoring situation
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is saddened by the loss of lives and the destruction due to the Kerala floods and the world organisation is following the situation very closely, according to his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.
6.0 quake shakes Costa Rica near Panama; no major damage
A strong earthquake shook southern Costa Rica near the border with Panama, toppling items from store shelves and knocking out power in places, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or major damage. The US Geological Survey reported that the quake that occurred last evening had a magnitude of 6.0 and struck at 5:22 pm local time at a depth of about 12 miles (19 kilometers). Its epicentre was about 12 miles (19 kilometers) north of the town of Golfito. Ellery Quesada, a journalist with Channel 9 in Palmar Norte, near the epicenter, told The Associated Press that it was felt strongly in the region. "We have reports that in Puerto Jimenez the power was out and some power poles toppled," Quesada said by phone, adding that aftershocks were felt in the minutes afterward. The USGS recorded at least one subsequent temblor of magnitude 4.9. Photos circulating on social media showed shattered wine bottles and other products lying on shop floors in Palmar Norte. Costa Rica's National ...
6.0 magnitude quake jolts Costa Rica
A strong earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter Scale shook southern Costa Rica, close to the border with Panama.The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said that the quake occurred at 5:22 pm (local time) on Friday and struck at a depth of about 19 km. Its epicentre was 19 km north of Golfito town in Costa Rica.However, there were no reports of casualties and damage so far.Costa Rica 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.
6.0 earthquake shakes southern Costa Rica near Panama
A strong earthquake has shaken southern Costa Rica near the border of Panama. There are no immediate reports of injuries or significant damage. The US Geological Survey reports that the quake had a magnitude of 6.0 and struck at a depth of about 12 miles (19 kilometers). Its epicentre was about 12 miles (19 kilometers) north of the town of Golfito. It hit at 5:22 pm local time yesterday. There were early reports on social media of power outages and fallen objects.
Kumaraswamy to review relief operations in rain-hit Kodagu
In the wake of heavy rainfall in the state, Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy will on Saturday visit Kodagu to review relief operations in the district.He will also chair a high-level meeting regarding the same at around 10.30 a.m. today in Krishna, his home office before leaving for Kodagu district. He will pay a visit to rain-affected areas in Nanjangood and Kabini on August 19.Kumaraswamy also directed Kodagu district in-charge minister Sara Mahesh to get the supply of relief materials from Mysuru, said a press release from the Chief Minister's office.With heavy rains expected in many parts of the state, Kumaraswamy had earlier directed collectors of various districts to remain on their toes to combat any untoward situation.Out of 30 districts, as many as five districts namely, Kodagu, Dakshina Kannada, Hassan, Chikkamagaluru, and Shivamogga have been kept on high alert.The Chief Minister had also urged the concerned officials in the said districts to review the situation in .
Anger engulfs families as Italy buries its bridge victims
With anger and grief, Italians began burying some of their dead from the Genoa highway bridge collapse, holding funerals in the victims' hometowns. Several angry families rebuffed the offer of a state funeral and the cardinal of Naples was merciless in his condemnation of negligence by Italian officials. Saturday has been declared a national day of mourning in Italy and will include a state funeral at the industrial port city's fair grounds for those who plunged to their deaths as the 45-meter (150-foot) tall Morandi Bridge gave way Tuesday. But many of those who lost loved ones declined to participate in the state funeral. Some cited the need to bid farewell in private while others blamed the loss of at least 38 lives on those responsible for the bridge's safety. Anger and sadness erupted at the funeral for four men in their 20s, all friends from the Naples seaside suburb of Torre del Greco, whose lives were snuffed out as they drove over the bridge heading to a vacation in ...
Bus in deadly Ecuador crash carried 'half a ton' of marijuana
Ecuadoran authorities said that a Colombian bus that crashed near Quito, leaving 23 people dead, was carrying at least a half a ton of marijuana hidden in its floor. Nearly 600 plastic-wrapped packages of the drug were found by a sniffer dog in the wreckage of the bus, which crashed on Tuesday, national anti-narcotics police director General Carlos Alulema said. He told reporters that three buses from Colombia had already been stopped this year and "more than 400 kilos of cocaine and 600 of marijuana were found in similar circumstances." The South American countries share a border regularly used by drug-trafficking gangs to ship cocaine to the United States. Colombian prosecutors said on Thursday that 80 kilos of cocaine had been recovered from the bus. But Ecuadoran prosecutor Ruth Palacios told the press conference "marijuana was found, solely and exclusively." Colombia said on Wednesday that 19 of the 23 victims were its citizens. Palacios said the authorities would question the 22
PM Modi arrives in Kerala to review flood situation
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on late Friday landed in Kerala to review the flood situation in the state."Leaving for Kerala to take stock of the flood situation in the state," Prime Minister Modi earlier tweeted.Kerala has been witnessing incessant rainfall over the last few days, causing unprecedented flooding and landslides in several parts of the state. So far, 324 people have lost their lives in the state due to flood, according to a tweet by the Chief Minister Office (CMO) of Kerala.Earlier on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Kerala Chief Minister Pinayari Vijayan and assured that he will visit the flood-hit state to review the situations. The Centre has also launched massive rescue and relief operations as the situation in the state is getting worse with each passing day.The rescue operations have also been stepped up in the state to evacuate people from the flood-affected situation.Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) ...
Kerala floods: DGCA asks airlines to add more flights, cap airfare
To avoid any inconvenience in travelling, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked scheduled domestic airlines to mount additional flights to Kerala after the closure of the Cochin airport."Out of 71 arrivals and 74 departures of scheduled domestic airlines to or from Cochin, 23 arrival and 24 departures have been rescheduled and additional 19 arrival and departures have been mounted to or from Trivandrum, Calicut and Coimbatore airports. Nine foreign carriers operating to Cochin have also rescheduled their flights to or from Trivandrum," read a statement from Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA).Scheduled domestic airlines have also been advised to ensure that airfares for flights to or from Trivandrum and Calicut airports in Kerala and nearby airports - Mangalore and Coimbatore - are kept at an optimal level proportionate to sector distance.Accordingly, airlines have been requested to cap the maximum fare around Rs 10,000 on longer routes and around Rs 8000 on shorter ...
Prime Minister arrives in Kerala capital
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived here on Friday night to see for himself the rain-battered Kerala and also survey the relief and rescue operations.
Kerala floods: 'Help them in this time of need', urges Sonali Bendre
Bollywood actress Sonali Bendre, who is currently undergoing treatment for a rare high-grade cancer in New York, urged everyone to extend their support to Kerala flood victims.She took to Twitter and wrote, "My thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by the #KeralaFloods... let's do everything we can to help them in this time of need."Earlier, many Bollywood celebrities extended their support and urged people to come forward and help people in the state.Farhan Akhtar took to social media to express his concern over the flood situation in the state and wrote, "Thoughts with the people of #Kerala. Here's hoping that rescue teams, medical aid, and food relief can reach all those in need."Abhishek Bachchan also took to Twitter and prayed for the flood victims. "Tragic to see what is happening in Kerala floods please help in whatever way you can. Pray for Kerala," he tweeted.Terming the devastation caused in the state by the floods as "gut-wrenching", Anushka Sharma said, ...
Telangana gives Rs 25 cr relief fund to Kerala
Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Friday announced immediate financial help of Rs 25 crore for flood-hit Kerala. Rao instructed Chief Secretary S.K.Joshi to send the amount to Kerala immediately.He also instructed the officials concerned that in view of water getting polluted due to floods, Rs 2.50 crore worth R.O. machines should be dispatched to Kerala. The Chief Minister urged the Telangana people to help in the rescue operations.The Chief Minister further expressed deep sorrow on the natural calamity that has taken place in Kerala due to which there is loss of life and property.Besides him, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal have also given Rs 10 crore each for the relief works in Kerala.The Chief Ministers also extended their moral support to the flood victims and wished normalcy be established soon in Kerala.Kerala has been witnessing incessant rainfall over ..