Page 724 - Disaster Accident
UN chief condoles deaths in Guatemala volcano eruption
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life and significant damage caused by Sunday's eruption of the Fuego volcano in Guatemala, his spokesman has said.
Toll rises in Guatemala volcano as more bodies recovered
Rescue workers pulled more bodies today from under the dust and rubble left by an explosive eruption of Guatemala's Fuego volcano, bringing the death toll to at least 65. Disaster Relief Agency spokesman David de Leon told a briefing that after hours of searching for survivors, the number of dead had hit at least 65. In addition, there are 46 people injured, most of them seriously, more than 1.7 million being hit by the disaster, including 3,271 ordered evacuated and 1,787 in shelters in the departments of Escuintla, Sacatepequez and Chimaltenango since Sunday's eruption. The 3,763-metre volcano erupted early Sunday, spewing out towering plumes of ash and a hail of fiery rock fragments with scalding mud. Authorities had warned the death toll could rise after searches resumed for survivors in communities on the mountain's southern flank. After an initial toll of 25 dead, it was revised upwards within hours as bodies were recovered from villages razed by the tumbling mud. "There are ..
Toll in Guatemala volcano eruption rises to 62
The toll from the eruption of a highly active volcano near Guatemala's capital has risen to 62, officials said.
Heavy rain causes water-logging, traffic jam in Mumbai
Heavy rain accompanied by thunder and lightning lashed Maharashtra's Mumbai city on Monday night, causing water-logging and disruption of local train services.Water-logging has been reported in several areas including Malabar Hill and Hindmata, Dharavi, Byculla, Dadar TT, Kabutarkhana at Dadar, King Circle, Nagpada, Santacruz (East) and Marol Maroshi.According to media reports, services of local trains have also been affected on the Central line running 15 to 20 minutes late and 20 to 25 minutes on Western line.At least nine flights of different airlines were also diverted to other airports on account of congestion at Mumbai and inclement weather conditions.
Myanmar Minister calls for earthquake readiness
Union Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement U Win Myat Aye said frequent earthquakes in 2018 have become a challenge for Myanmar adding that it should be addressed seriously."Earthquakes have become a challenge that must be seriously addressed in Myanmar," The Myanmar Times quoted Aye as saying.Myanmar was hit by 31 earthquakes in January, 13 in February, 11 in March and 20 in April. The magnitude of earthquakes ranged from three to six on the Richter scale.Awareness talks and preparedness rehearsals are being conducted throughout the, he added.The major earthquakes of Myanmar include the Tarlay quake in March 2011, the Thabeikyin quake in November 2012, the Kalay quake in April 2016 and the Chauk quake in August 2016.
Toll in Guatemala volcano eruption rises to 33
The toll from the eruption of a highly active volcano near Guatemala's capital rose to 33, a government agency has said.
Guatemala volcano eruption: Death toll rises to 25
The death toll from a highly active volcano that erupted near Guatemala's capital on Sunday rose to 25.The National Coordination for Disaster Reduction of Guatemala (CONRED) said as of 9:00 p.m. local time the death toll had risen to 25, and 653 people have moved into shelters, Xinhua reported.According to the CONRED, over 3,100 people were evacuated while the number of people missing is still unknown.The Fuego Volcano exploded around noon local time and lava began flowing down in the afternoon.The executive secretary of the CONRED Sergio Garcia Cabanas said that the village of El Rodeo is the most affected and it was practically buried.Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales said that a national "orange alert" has been activated in the region.
Toll in Guatemala volcano eruption rises to 62: officials
The death toll in the eruption of Guatemala's Fuego volcano rose to 62 today as rescue workers recovered more bodies from devastated villages. Fanuel Garcia, head of the country's Institute of Forensic Sciences (INACIF) -- which is tasked with identifying the remains -- told reporters that "so far, INACIF is working on 62 bodies.
4 killed in mine explosion in Pak
Four workers have been killed in a gas explosion at a mine in Pakistan's Baluchistan province. The four belonged to the Swat area of the Khyber Pakhtunkhawa province. They were killed after the explosion in the mine. "We rescue six workers who were trapped under the debris but four workers died due to suffocation," one rescue official said.
Toll from Guatemala volcano rises to 33
The death toll from the eruption of Guatemala's Fuego volcano rose to 33 today after rescue workers recovered more bodies. David de Leon, spokesman for Guatemala's disaster management agency, said several more bodies had been recovered in the rubble of villages on the volcano's southern flank, which bore the brunt of the disaster. The previous toll was 25. Authorities had warned the death toll could rise as a number of people had been reported missing. De Leon said some 1.7 million people had been affected when the volcano erupted on Sunday, shooting a dense cloud of ash into the sky and sending a hail of fiery rock fragments and scalding mud down the mountainside, burying homes. Fuego has been erupting since 2002, and was continuously active in 2017. There were explosions and ash plumes on May 19-21 as well as a volcanic mudflow on May 17. The last emergency occurred in September 2012, causing the evacuation of some 10,000 people from villages on its slopes.
Ujjwal Nikam escapes unhurt in road mishap
Noted lawyer Ujjwal Nikam today escaped unhurt in a road accident involving his car and an escort vehicle in Khandala ghat section on Pune-Mumbai expressway, police said. However, two police personnel in the escort vehicle sustained minor injuries. The accident occurred at around 8 PM when Nikam was on his way to Mumbai. According to a Raigad police official, an escort vehicle of police rammed Nikam's car from behind when his driver slowed down after seeing an accident involving other vehicle in the ghat section. "The moment he reduced the speed, the escort vehicle hit Nikam's car from behind," he said, adding that two police personnel in the vehicle sustained minor injuries. "Nikam escaped unhurt in the incident," the officer said, adding that the two personnel were taken to a hospital while Nikam proceeded towards Mumbai. Nikam is a special public prosecutor who has worked on prominent murder and terrorism cases.
Showers in Mumbai, Andheri records maximum 46mm rainfall
Several parts of the city received rains accompanied by heavy winds and lightning, leading to water logging at some places. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's Disaster Control Room, in a statement, said that maximum rainfall of 46 mm was recorded in Andheri area followed by Dahisar (43mm), Dharavi (39 mm), Wadala (35mm) and Byculla (33mm). It added that 39 cases of tree falling were also reported and traffic snarls were observed in Dharavi and Dadar TT circle. A Disaster Control Room official said that there was no report of any untoward incident due to the rains. Trains on Western and Central Railways were running late by 15-25 minutes. Flight operations were affected at the Mumbai Airport and 18 flights of various airlines were diverted, an airport spokesperson said. The spokesperson added that flight operations were delayed on an average by 45 minutes.
Temple fire: HC issues notice to TN, CBI on PIL seeking transfer of case
The Madras High Court today issued notice to the state government and the CBI on a plea seeking to transfer the Meenakshi Amman temple fire accident case to the central investigating agency. A division bench of Justices C T Selvam and Basheer Ahamed posted the case for hearining on June 18, asking officials to file their response before that date. The PIL was filed by the Hindu Alaya Padukappu Amaippu (temple protection organisation). The petitioner submitted that the fire accident had occurred despite heavy police security in the temple complex. The accident, which occurred on February 2, damaged 7,000 sq feet of 'Vasantharayar Mandapam' and caused a loss of Rs. 52 crore. The expert committee, constituted to study the fire accident, said 'Agama' rules weren't followed and indiscriminate permission was given to set up shops in the temple complex leading to the accident, the petitioner alleged. The organisation submitted that it did not expect the temple police station personnel, who ..
Trai recommends free spectrum for emergency communication network
Telecom regulator Trai recommended allocation of 10 megahertz of paired 4G spectrum at no cost basis for setting up a nationwide network to provide communication service at the time of disaster and other emergencies. The authority also recommended 20 Mhz of additional spectrum in 450-470 Mhz frequency range which is estimated to provide almost double coverage compared to signals transmitted in existing band as well as deep inside buildings where mobile signals often fail to reach. "The Authority recommends that 2x10 MHz of dedicated spectrum should be allocated nationwide to the SPV (special purpose vehicle) on no-cost basis for LTE based broadband PPDR (Public Protection and Disaster Relief) networks," Trai said in a recommendation today. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has recommended forming of special purpose vehicle (SPV) under Home Ministry to plan, coordinate and steer the nationwide Broadband PPDR communication network implementation and its subsequent ...
Death toll rises to 25 in Guatemala's volcanic eruption
The death toll in Guatemala's Fuego volcanic eruption rose to 25 people on Monday.As per media reports, nearly 300 were injured as ashes and black smoke filled the sky following the eruption.As an aftermath to the incident, Guatemala's La Aurora international airport was closed down.People were burnt to death as their houses were engulfed by the rousing flames and molten lava.A team of firefighters was dispatched to the location to bring the situation under control.Earlier, Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales has declared a national emergency and urged people to stay calm and not wander around the affected areas.
Modi govt totally failed in ensuring safety of border residents: Cong leader
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Tara Chand today alleged that the Narendra Modi government had "totally failed" in ensuring the safety of border residents in the state. He also condemned unprovoked and indiscriminate firing and shelling by the Pakistan Army on the people living in the border areas. Chand visited the Pargwal sector and took stock of the problems of people, who have fled their homes due to yesterday's heavy shelling. "Pakistan is shamefully targeting the civilian population," he said. Chand alleged the Modi government had "totally failed" in ensuring the safety and security of the border residents. The Modi government's "utter failure" in dealing with Pakistan in the last four years had caused huge losses in terms of lives and property, he alleged. A record number of ceasefire violations occurred in the last four years, he claimed.
Kolkata metro service partially disrupted by passengers' protest
The Kolkata metro service was partially disrupted on Monday morning after a metro rake was stranded at a station for more than 20 minutes when passengers protested following a problem with the air conditioning system in one of the compartments.
Report: Residents in London fire wrongly told to stay inside
Residents of London's Grenfell Tower high-rise were wrongly told to stay in their apartments as fire raged through the building, aided by flammable external cladding that didn't meet safety standards, an expert report said today. Fire-safety engineer Barbara Lane said the fire service's "stay put" policy had "effectively failed" barely a half-hour after the fire started early on June 14, 2017. But, she said, residents weren't told to evacuate for more than an hour after that. Lane's report was published by an inquiry investigating causes of the fire, which killed 72 people. The blaze started with a faulty refrigerator in one apartment and quickly raced up the 25-story building. Lane's report said that a 2016 renovation installed flammable aluminum-and polyethylene cladding on the tower's facade and led to "multiple catastrophic fire-spread routes." "The assembly failed adequately to resist the spread of fire" to an extent that would have support a "stay put" policy, she said. The ...
Israeli woman killed in Himachal bus accident
An Israeli woman tourist was killed and four others injured when a private vehicle carrying foreigners bound for Leh skidded off the road and fell into a gorge in Himachal Pradesh's Lahaul Valley on Monday, police said.
Power stns within 20 km of mines take coal only by road: CIL
The Coal India Limited today said it wants power plants situated within 20 kms from pit-head of coal mines to take their entire coal requirement only by road from this fiscal. The CIL has requested the Ministry of Power to prevail upon the power plants situated within 20 kms of coal mines to lift their entire requirement by road mode from 2018-19 onwards, the PSU said in a statement today. This will increase availability of rakes for movement of coal to power plants located far from the mines. The CIL and Railways through their coordinated efforts have increased rail loading from CIL's own sidings to sustain the spurt in demand from the power sector. The CIL said it has loaded 243 rakes per day during April-May registering an increase of 23 rakes over the movement during the corresponding period last fiscal. Besides enhancing dispatches through rail mode, power stations within the vicinity of 50-60 kms of the mines having FSA are being offered coal through road and ...