Page 658 - Disaster Accident
NDRF pre-positions rescue, relief teams across country
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has pre-positioned its rescue and relief teams in the vulnerable areas of flood-prone States across the country.A total of 96 rescue and relief teams of NDRF comprising of over 3000 responders have been deployed in 71 locations to face the challenges arising due to floods.At least, 54 rescue and relief teams have been pre-positioned in 45 vulnerable locations whereas 42 teams are permanently deployed in 26 Regional Response Centers (RRCs).These RRCs are identified as per the vulnerability profile of the States for prompt response to any eventuality.Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju visited the NDRF Base RRC Mumbai to know the preparation level of NDRF for this monsoon season."Today I reviewed the NDRF rescue operation efforts in Mumbai region. @NDRFHQ is fully equipped and trained to deal with floods and other Natural Disasters within the country as well as our neighbours," he tweeted.The NDRF officials briefed him ...
Heavy rains in south Gujarat, transport disrupted
Heavy rains lashed south Gujarat region during the last 24 hours ending Wednesday, caused by cyclonic circulation system over Chhattisgarh and Odisha, disrupting transport services.
Sri Lankan aircraft makes emergency landing in Kolkata
A Kolkata-bound Sri Lankan aircraft made an emergency landing at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport here on Wednesday due to a suspected tyre burst, airport sources said.
1 dead, one missing as Spanish fishing boat sinks near Argentina
One person has died and another is missing after a Spanish fishing vessel sank off Argentina today, but 25 crew members have been rescued, the Argentine Navy said. The crew of the Dorneda were found at dawn in two rafts and a small boat, 308 nautical miles off Argentina's Patagonian coast, the Navy said in a statement. Most of the crew are Spanish but there are also Moroccans, Peruvians and Indonesians amongst them, spokesman Enrique Balbi said. The 25 survivors and dead sailor are aboard an Argentine fishing boat heading back to dry land and expected to arrive in Patagonia in around two days, Balbi told AFP. To reach there, the Argentine boat must negotiate 570 kilometers of open water through a South Atlantic storm in the middle of winter, said Balbi. The Dorneda is believed to have capsized after being inundated by "a lot of water down the stern ramp where the fish nets are pulled up," according to Balbi. "The water entered the engine room and caused a power cut," he said. "That ..
27-yr-old Indian killed in road accident in New Zealand
A 27-year-old Indian man was killed today after his car collided head on with a large truck in New Zealand's Tauranga city, according to a media report. Parminder Jabbal of Ohauiti was travelling in his car on State Highway 36 when the accident took place early this morning. His death has been referred to the coroner, the NZ Herald reported. The driver of the second vehicle was taken to a hospital with minor injuries. The Serious Crash Unit was investigating the cause of the accident. Police cordoned off the road after the accident and asked motorists to take an alternate route. The road was opened to the public later in the day.
11 feared killed in Manipur landslides, flooded river
At least 11 persons, including six children, were feared dead in landslides as well as a swollen river in Manipur, State Disaster Management Authority Vice Chairman Adim Panmei said on Wednesday.
Both tubes of Jawahar Tunnel made functional
Both tubes of the Jawahar Tunnel on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway were made functional on Wednesday, decongesting traffic on the vital road link between the Kashmir Valley and the rest of the country.
Indian dies in New Zealand road accident
A 27-year-old Indian man died in a road accident in New Zealand's Tauranga city on Wednesday, police said.
One dead, one missing as Spanish fishing boat sinks near Argentina
- One person has died and another is missing after a Spanish fishing vessel sank off Argentina today, but 25 crew members have been rescued, the Argentine Navy said. The crew of the Dornera were found at dawn in two rafts and a small boat, 308 nautical miles off Argentina's Patagonian coast, the Navy said in a statement. Most of the crew are Spanish but there are also Moroccans, Peruvians and Indonesians amongst them, spokesman Enrique Balbi said. While the reason for the sinking is so far unknown, Balbi noted: "At this time of year, adverse conditions created by low pressure generate a lot of wind and big waves. This can happen to any boat when there are big waves." Spain picked up a distress beacon and alerted the Argentine Navy, which sent out two fishing vessels to locate the sailors. Balbi said the boat, owned by Spanish seafood company Freiremar, was fishing in international waters but that "it's still our search and rescue area." Two aircraft have been sent to Patagonia to help
Pilots, cabin crew can work longer in 'exceptional circumstances', says DGCA
Pilots and cabin crew can now work beyond their prescribed duty hours in case of "exceptional circumstances", including delays due to air traffic control and runway closure, according to aviation regulator DGCA. Airlines can extend the duty hours of flight and cabin crew to "avoid inconvenience to passengers" in such circumstances. The decision comes after the Delhi High Court, on May 22, ruled that the aviation regulator had the power to grant the airline companies an exemption from the stipulated Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTLs) of pilots. Medical emergency, unforecast weather, runway closure and ATC (Air Traffic Control) delay are among the exceptional circumstances cited by the watchdog that could warrant relaxation of FDTL requirements. The circular issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on June 26 is applicable to all flight and cabin crew members engaged in commercial and general aviation flying. Some of the exceptional circumstances, which may be ...
BSF chopper carrying CRPF top brass makes emergency landing in Bihar
A BSF chopper, carrying senior CRPF officials deployed in anti-Naxal operations, made an emergency landing in Aurangabad district of Bihar today after developing a technical problem and all on board were safe, officials said. The military camouflage painted Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) 'Dhruv' landed safely at about 11:55 PM at an open field in Uphara area of the Left Wing Extremism-affected district, they said. The chopper with nine passengers and crew had taken off from Danapur, they said. CRPF's Additional Director General (central zone) Kuldiep Singh, Inspector General (Bihar Sector) Charu Sinha, two senior commanders and a few local police officials were on board the helicopter, named 'Brahmaputra', they said. They were enroute to a camp of the 205th battalion camp of the CoBRA in Barachatti in Gaya district for a review meeting when the pilot detected some problem in the engine and decided to quickly land the chopper, they said. The CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute ...
Two Amarnath pilgrims die of cardiac arrest, another killed in road accident
Two pilgrims died of cardiac arrest near the holy cave shrine of Amarnath while another was killed in a road accident in Pulwama district, taking the death toll in this year's pilgrimage to 20. A private vehicle, carrying Amarnath pilgrims, collided with a school bus at Padgampora in the Awantipora area, resulting in death of one woman pilgrim, a police official said. He said she was identified as Savita, a resident of Jaipur. A pilgrim, identified as Mahinder Pal, fell unconscious last night at Kali Mata track and later died, the official said. G Koteshwara, a 70-year-old pilgrim from Andhra Pradesh, died due to cardiac arrest at the holy cave yesterday, he said. With these, the death toll in this year's pilgrimage -- which began on June 28 -- has gone up to 20.
Assam flood situation still grim
The flood situation in Assam continued to remain grim today with over 24,000 people affected in three districts, though the water level in the major rivers of the state was receding, officials said. Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal today visited Biswanath district, which was hit by the flood a few days ago. A population of 24,244 was affected by the flood waters in 33 villages of Dhemaji, Lakhimpur and Jorhat districts, the daily bulletin of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said. Yesterday, the ASDMA had reported 24 villages in those three districts were under water and a total of 19,170 people affected. The death toll in the current wave of floods in the state stood at 34, with no fresh casualty reported. A crop area of 1,309 hectares was damaged, the ASDMA report said. Heavy erosion was also reported from two villages in Biswanath district, it added. As many as 1,910 people had taken shelter in eight relief camps in Dhemaji and Lakhimpur, the report ...
Maha to form multi-agency committee to tackle rain emergencies
The Maharashtra government today announced setting up of a multi-agency coordination committee to tackle monsoon emergencies in the wake of an uproar over water-logging caused by heavy rain in Mumbai. State Education Minister Vinod Tawde, who is also Guardian Minister for Mumbai, today held a high-level meeting with top officials of various agencies at the BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) headquarters and directed them to take utmost precautions to ensure that citizens do not face hardships in heavy rains. The meeting was held in the wake of heavy downpour that lashed Mumbai for three consecutive days till yesterday. The incessant downpour caused water-logging in many areas in the island city and suburbs, throwing the normal life out of gear. An officer from BMC's Disaster Management Unit who attended the meeting said, "Tawde instructed the officers to provide all-out support to people in the event of flood and other emergencies. He also announced setting up of a
Minister holds meeting in BMC Disaster Control Room
A meeting was held in the BMC Control Room on Wednesday on the recent rains which led to severe waterlogging in many parts of the city.The meeting, headed by Maharashtra state minister Vinod Tawde, was attended by Mumbai Police Commissioner Subodh Jaiswal and Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta among others."Light rain was predicted for Andheri and other areas in the city whereas Virar, Chembur and Nala Sopara were predicted to receive heavy rains. These areas have a problem of water-logging. Due to heavy rains and high tide, water could not recede", said Tawde.Earlier this week, heavy rainfall caused collapse of a part of Foot Over Bridge in the Andheri West area.Many were stranded in waterlogged areas like Nala Sopara.BMC has come under fire of many political parties and the Bombay HC.
Heavy rains lash parts of south Guj, 600 relocated in Navsari
Some districts in south Gujarat witnessed heavy rains that affected normal life in several cities, including Navsari, where 600 people living in low-lying areas were shifted to safer places, officials said today. Navsari taluka received 178 mm rainfall overnight, while Jalalpore city (in Navsari district) received 169 mm rainfall, officials of the disaster control department of the district collectorate said. Purna river in Navsari is flowing near the danger mark, the officials said. "Heavy rains threw normal life out of gear in Navsari as it led to water-logging and caused traffic jams. Low-lying areas in Kaliawadi locality were inundated and the disaster management officials shifted around 600 people to safer places," an official said. "Overnight, people from areas like Rajivnagar society, Bhut Bungalow, Jakatnaka and others were relocated. Besides shelter, they are being given food and other facilities till the situation improves," he said. The district ...
9 killed in Manipur landslides
Heavy rains triggered landslides in three places in Manipur's Tamenglong town early this morning, killing nine persons, including five minors and injuring seven others, officials said. The landslides occurred at 2.30 am, police said. Tamenglong town borders Assam and is about 150 km from here. The bodies of two more children killed in the landslide are yet to be recovered, said Chief Minister N Biren Singh. The seven injured have been admitted to the district hospital in Tamenglong, the officials said. "I am deeply saddened to know that nine precious life lost due to landslide at 3 places in Tamenglong Head Quarter, till now seven bodies have been recovered, two bodies of children yet to be recovered. Rescue operations are on," the chief minister tweeted. District Deputy Commissioner Rabinder Singh told PTI that the bodies of seven of the nine persons missing following the landslides have been recovered. Security personnel and locals are carrying out the rescue operations on a war ...
BMC will take call on school holiday on rainy day: Tawde
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will take a call on declaring holiday for schools and colleges in the city in the event of heavy rain, Maharashtra Education Minister Vinod Tawde announced today. Tawde, who is also Guardian Minister for Mumbai, had faced criticism for declaring holiday for schools in the rain-soaked city on July 9 in late morning when schools had already started by 7 AM. The minister today held a meeting of officials of various agencies including the railway, police, BMC, MMRDA (Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority) at the civic headquarters in south Mumbai. "Disaster Management Unit of the BMC has now been entrusted to take a call on declaring holiday for schools and colleges in the city (in event of heavy rains). "Officials of the disaster management cell of the BMC will hold a meeting in the morning at 5 AM (on a day of heavy rain) and will decide by 6 AM whether holiday should be declared for all schools, including those ...
J-K: Jawahar Tunnel tube reopens for traffic
One of the two tubes of the Jawahar Tunnel along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway reopened today after repairs, while traffic movement on the arterial road was disrupted for several hours as incessant rains triggered mudslides and shooting stones at several places, officials said. The repair work, carried out jointly by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and Navyug Engineering, a private firm, was completed early today, but the tube was opened for traffic around 1.30 pm after safety checks, they said. The tube had been closed around 7:30 am yesterday after seeping caused loose rocks to fall through an unlined area within the tunnel, also causing some cracks. Vehicular movement on the Jammu-Srinagar highway was disrupted for five hours after heavy rains triggered a mudslide at Seri and shooting of stones from a hillock at Panthiyal. The all weather road link between Kashmir and the rest of the country was closed again for two hours after a landslide in Seri at around 1:40 ...
Mumbai rains: Suburban train services resumed
Suburban train services have been resumed on all lines running between Churchgate - Bhayandar and Virar- Dahanu Road.Trains are being run on restricted speed between Vasai Road and Virar route. All four lines have opened between Vasai Road and Virar.Local train services on the Western line were suspended due to heavy rain and water-logging.Heavy rains have crippled Mumbai, with severe water logging and the local commute services being jammed across the city.National Defence Response Force (NDRF), Director General Sanjay Kumar has said that the NDRF teams are on high alert and the."Four teams are already active and 14 teams are on high alert in Maharashtra, 200 people were rescued from Manikpur village and 1500 passengers were evacuated from Vadodara express at Nala Sopara station," said ay Kumar, DG NDRF on rains in MaharashtraOn Tuesday, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team rescued 1500 stranded passengers from Vadodara Express stationed at Nala Sopara due to ...