Page 667 - Disaster Accident
Heavy rain likely in Kumaon region of Uttarakhand
The India Meteorological Department today predicted heavy rain at isolated places in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand over the next 24 hours, prompting authorities to sound an alert all over the state. Heavy rain may also lash parts of the Garhwal region of the state especially Chamoli, Pauri and Rudraprayag districts on July 10 and 11, the department said. The State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) wrote to all district magistrates to be on high alert in view of the Met department's warning. "Officials should be alert all the time and keep their mobiles phones and wireless systems on," it said. It asked the authorities to immediately get in touch with the SEOC in case of an emergency and officials of the NHAI, PWD, BRO, CPWD who should immediately clear blocked motor roads. Disaster related equipment should be kept ready at every police station, it said. Recent spell of rains have already damaged roads and bridges in Munsyari and Dharchula areas of Pithoragarh district where one ...
Assam flood situation improves, death toll rises to 33
The flood situation in Assam improved marginally today, even as the death toll increased to 33 with the recovery of a body, an official report said. A population of 41,065 continued to be in the grip of the flood waters in five districts as against the 51,400 people in seven districts yesterday, the daily bulletin of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said. The body of a person, who had been missing since July 3, was recovered in Udalguri district, taking the death toll in flood-related incidents to 33, the report added. The water level of most of the rivers was maintaining a receding trend, but vast tracts of land in the five districts of Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Sonitpur, Barpeta and Nagaon were still under the flood waters, the report said. A total of 58 villages were affected by the floods and a crop area of 2,156.88 hectares was damaged, it added. The authorities had set up 19 relief camps in Dhemaji and Lakhimpur, where 2,428 people had taken shelter, the ASDMA ...
50 dead in Japan rains, floods
At least 50 people have died and almost dozens remained missing on Saturday due to torrential rainfall and flooding in southern Japan.
6.0 magnitude earthquake in Japan
An earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter Scale jolted eastern Japan on Saturday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.The earthquake occurred at 8:23 pm (local time) and strong tremors were felt in various parts in eastern Japan, including Tokyo. No immediate warning of a tsunami was issued, according to the agency.The epicentre of the quake was situated 50 km underground in the Pacific Ocean off Chiba Prefecture, the Japan Today reported.In central Tokyo, some buildings swayed slightly during the tremors. However, there were no damages reported so far.Operations at Narita Airport was affected for a brief while, as two runways were closed to check for any possible damage. The airport resumed its operations later, Japan Today reported, quoting an airport operator.Also, there were no damages found at Tokai No. 2 Power Station, an off-line nuclear complex of Japan Atomic Power Company in Tokai village, Ibaraki Prefecture, the operator added.Earlier on June 18, a 6.1 magnitude ...
5.9-magnitude quake felt in Tokyo, no tsunami warning
A 5.9-magnitude earthquake hit Japan this evening outside of Tokyo, swaying buildings in the capital, but no tsunami warning was issued. The quake hit at 8:23 pm (1123 GMT), at a depth of 39 km, off the east coast of Honshu, Japan, the US Geological Survey said. Japan's meteorological agency said no tsunami warning was being issued. There were no immediate reports of damage after the quake, a relatively rare strong tremor to hit the capital. Residents in part of the Chiba region outside Tokyo reported strong tremors, with some saying the shaking had knocked objects from shelves, but there were no immediate injuries reported. Public broadcaster NHK said no abnormalities had been detected at nuclear facilities in the region. A spokesman for Narita airport outside the capital said the quake had forced a brief suspension of operations. "We temporarily closed the runways but resumed operation after confirming there was no damage. The quake was fairly strong but there was no panic at the ...
India developing technologies for manned space mission
India is developing critical technologies for launching manned missions in space and preparing a document on it, a top official said on Saturday.
French investigators say fire caused 2016 EgyptAir crash
French air accident investigators say that a rapidly spreading fire probably caused the crash of an EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo in 2016, casting doubt on Egyptian authorities' claims that traces of explosives were found. French investigation agency BEA said in a statement late Friday that "the most likely hypothesis is that a fire broke out in the cockpit and "spread rapidly, resulting in loss of control." Egyptian authorities are carrying out a criminal investigation amid suspicions that explosives were involved. The BEA has also investigated the crash. It cited its "difference of opinion" with that view and urged Egyptian prosecutors to investigate the possibility it was an accidental fire, in hopes of preventing future accidents. All 66 people aboard were killed when the plane crashed into the Mediterranean.
Heartbreaking scenes described in Thai boat sinking; 38 dead
Divers who entered the wreck of a tour boat that sank in a storm off the southern Thai resort island of Phuket described heartbreaking scenes of bodies of children found in the arms of their mothers, as the search continued today for 18 mostly Chinese tourists missing in a disaster that has left dozens dead. The death toll from Thursday's tragedy climbed to 38, in Thailand's biggest tourist-related disaster in years. It was not clear how many of the dead and missing were Chinese. The previous announced death toll was 33, with authorities saying all of those victims were Chinese. "It's very difficult to see ... it's traumatic, it's tragic but the best thing to do, our job as divers, is to bring back the bodies to their families," diver Philip Entremont told reporters before resuming the search today. The boat, with 105 people, including 93 tourists, capsized and sank after it was hit by 5-meter (16-foot) waves. The death toll jumped Friday after the navy sent divers to the wreck. In ...
38 dead in Japan rains, floods
At least 38 people have died and almost 50 remained missing on Saturday due to torrential rainfall and flooding in southern Japan.
38 dead, nearly 50 reported missing as heavy rain hits Japan
Torrents of rainfall and flooding battered a widespread area in southwestern Japan today, with local media casualty reports climbing quickly. Public broadcaster NHK said 38 people were dead, four were injured seriously and 47 were missing. Television footage showed a residential area in Okayama prefecture seeped in brown water spreading like a huge lake. Some people fled to rooftops and balconies and waved furiously at hovering rescue helicopters. Okayama prefecture said a man caught in a landslide died, and six others were missing. Evacuation orders had been issued to more than 360,000 people, the prefecture said in a statement. Throughout the affected areas, parked cars sat in pools of water. NHK TV said water had reached as high as 5 metres (16 feet) in the worst-hit areas. Kyodo news service, which put the death tally at 34 people, said one death was in a landslide in Hiroshima, which had set off a fire, while the body of a child was found in another area. NHK said a woman died in
Thailand cave rescue: Elon Musk team working on escape pod design
SpaceX founder Elon Musk on Saturday said a team he had sent for the Thailand cave rescue operations is working closely with experts from the country on an escape capsule design to bring the 12 schoolchildren and their football coach trapped in a partially flooded cave to safety.
Two mini-buses collide head-on in JK's Reasi, 16 injured
Sixteen people were injured today when two private mini-buses collided head-on in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir, a police officer said. The vehicles, which were coming from opposite directions, collided near Kundherdhan in Chassana area of the district, the officer said. He said the 16 sixteen were injured in the accident and were shifted to a hospital. Condition of both the drivers and a woman was stated to be "serious", the officer said, adding that they were shifted to the district hospital in Rajouri for treatment.
Search resumes for 23 missing tourists in Thai boat tragedy
Divers who entered the wreck of a tour boat that sank in a storm off the southern Thai resort island of Phuket described heart-breaking scenes of bodies of children found in the arms of their mothers, as a search resumed today for some 23 mostly Chinese tourists missing. The death toll from Thursday's tragedy hit 33, all of them Chinese nationals, in Thai tourism's biggest disaster in years. "It's very difficult to see ... it's traumatic, it's tragic but the best thing to do, our job as divers, is to bring back the bodies to their families," diver Philip Entremont told reporters before resuming the search Saturday. The boat, with 105 people, including 93 tourists, capsized and sank after it was hit by 5-meter (16-foot) high waves. The death toll jumped Friday after the navy sent divers to the wreck on Friday. In images shortly after the sinking, rescued people sat in large rubber life rafts surrounded by churning seas. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, the leader of Thailand's ...
15 dead, 50 reported missing as heavy floods hit Japan
Torrents of rainfall and flooding battered a widespread area in southwestern Japan today, leaving at least 15 people dead and more than 50 missing, according to Japanese media. As the death toll continued to climb from the rainfall, which began earlier this week, Okayama prefecture said a man caught in a landslide was pronounced dead. Kyodo news service reported another death in a landslide in Hiroshima, which set off a fire, while the body of a child was found in a flooded area. Among the missing were five people who got buried when housing collapsed, also in Hiroshima prefecture. In Ehime prefecture, a woman was found dead on the second floor of a home hit by a landslide, Kyodo said. Yamaguchi prefecture, another area hit by the heavy rain, alerted people to heed evacuation warnings and act quickly. Kyoto prefecture said it was working to control flooding at several dams. Some 250 people had to flee their homes and the prefecture identified one fatality as a 52-year old woman. Roads
Over 100 'chimneys' drilled into mountain in bid to reach trapped boys
More than 100 chimneys are being drilled into the mountainside in a frantic bid to reach a Thai youth football team trapped in a cave complex below, the head of the rescue mission said today. The unprecedented rescue effort is attempting to establish new ways to extract the boys from above, if the underground chambers flood and it is deemed too risky to evacuate the team by diving out through the submerged passageways. "Some (of the chimneys) are as deep as 400 metres... but they still cannot find their location yet," Narongsak Osottanakorn told reporters, adding the mission lacked the technology "to pinpoint where they are staying". "We estimate that (they) are 600 metres down, but we don't know the (exact) target," he said. On the question of dipping oxygen levels in the cave, he said rescuers had managed to establish a line to pump in fresh air and had also withdrawn non-essential workers from chamber three -- where the rescue base is -- to preserve levels inside the cave. The ...
Pakistan: 10 killed in Sindh's three-vehicle crash
At least 10 people were killed and 18 others wounded in a three-vehicle crash in Nawabshah in Pakistan's Sindh province on Friday.A passenger coach, a van and a car collided on the Mehran Highway of the province.A passenger coach travelling to Punjab from Karachi ran into a van while another car crashed into the vehicles, the Express Tribune reported.The bodies and injured were shifted to Peoples Medical University (PMU) Hospital, Nawabshah, as per media reports.Rescue teams and police rushed to the scene right after the accident took place.The deceased included women and children.The coach was heading towards Karachi when it met with the tragic accident.
Thai officials rule out immediate evacuation attempts from cave
Thai officials on Saturday ruled out any immediate attempts to evacuate 12 boys and their coach trapped deep inside a system of caves in Chiang Rai province despite concerns over low oxygen levels underground and poor weather forecasts.
8 dead, 50 reported missing as heavy floods hit Japan
Japanese media say at least eight people have been killed and more than 50 are missing as torrents of rainfall and flooding continued to batter southwestern Japan. Kyoto prefecture, one of the hardest hit, says it's working to control flooding at several dams. It says 250 people had to flee their homes and identified one fatality as a 52-year old woman. Yamaguchi prefecture, another area hit by the heavy rain, has alerted people to heed evacuation warnings and act quickly. Roads are blocked in some areas, where warnings were issued on landslides. Among the missing are five people who got buried when housing collapsed in Hiroshima prefecture.
California fire kills 1 as heat stokes blazes in Western US
A wildfire raging through drought-stricken timber and brush near California's border with Oregon killed one person and destroyed at least a dozen buildings as it burned largely out of control, authorities have said. No other details were released about the death blamed on the fire that threatened 300 homes near Hornbook, a town of 250 people about 22 kilometres south of the Oregon border. It's not clear how many of the damaged and destroyed buildings were homes and how many were garages, barns or other outbuildings in the rural area. The so-called Klamathon Fire was one of dozens of blazes across the dry American West, fueled by rising temperatures and gusty winds that were expected to last through the weekend. Heat spreading from Southern California into parts of Arizona, Nevada and Utah threatened to worsen flames that have forced thousands of people to evacuate and destroyed hundreds of homes across the West. On the California-Oregon border, the fire ignited Thursday and moved ...
Woman behind Trudeau groping allegations stands by account
The woman who accused Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 18 years ago of groping her says she stands by her account.