Page 772 - Disaster Accident
Hailstorm hits J-K's Rajouri, rescue operation launched
Heavy rains and hailstorm hit Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district today trapping 10 families of a nomadic tribe on hills in the Thanamandi area and killing over 110 animals, mostly sheep and goats, a senior official said. The administration has launched a major operation to rescue the families trapped in the higher reaches of the area, District Development Commissioner (DDC), Rajouri, Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, said. Though there is no immediate report of any human death, but over 110 small animals, mostly sheep and goats, were killed in the hailstorm and rain, he said. Ten Bakerwal families of Androoth village got trapped when they were on the move to the higher reaches. They got trapped in the hail storm and lost their livestock, Choudhary, who is supervising the rescue operation, said. The officer said that an immediate amount of Rs 3 lakh was sanctioned for assistance to the affected families. "A massive rescue operation is going on," he said, adding that hundreds of vehicles were ..
4 injured in Badarpur wall collapse
Three children and a woman were injured when the parapet of a building collapsed in Badarpur area of south east Delhi tonight, apparently due to the high-speed winds, a Delhi Fire Service official said. A call about the incident was received at 9.40 pm, the official said. The injured were rushed to a hospital, he said, adding the affected building was an old structure and the parapet collapsed due to the storm, he added. Parts of the national capital witnessed a dust storm coupled with light rains in the evening. "A dust storm entered the city around 8.30 PM. It focused in the Palam area and is moving towards south east part of the city," a MeT department official said.
Dust storms, rain hit northern states; 'over 100 animals dead' in J-K
Dust storms, rain and thunder hit parts of northern India today, leaving at least 100 animals dead in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district, uprooting trees and blowing the roofs off homes in Himachal Pradesh's Shimla, but striking with less fury in other places. Normal life was disrupted in parts of Punjab, Haryana and Delhi with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicting more bad weather tomorrow. In Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri, hailstorm preceded by heavy rains hit Thanamandi area in the evening, prompting authorities to launch a massive rescue operation, a senior official said. Rajouri District Development Commissioner Shahid Iqbal Choudhary said there was no immediate report of loss of human life but over 110 small animals, mostly sheep and goats, perished. Choudhary, who is supervising the rescue operation, said 10 families of nomadic Bakerwal community, all residents of Androoth village who were on move to higher reaches, were trapped in the hailstorm and suffered the .
Over 100 sheep, goats killed in cloudburst in J&K
Over 110 sheep and goats perished and public infrastructure suffered heavy damage in a cloudburst in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district on Tuesday, officials said.
Dust storms, rain and thunder lashed parts of northern India today, uprooting trees and ...
Dust storms, rain and thunder lashed parts of northern India today, uprooting trees and blowing the roofs off homes in Himachal Pradesh's Shimla district but striking with less fury in other places. Normal life was disrupted in parts of Punjab, Haryana and Delhi with the India Meteorological Department predicting more bad weather tomorrow. A severe storm, accompanied by hail and rain, hit Shimla and other parts of Himachal Pradesh, while the higher reaches of the state experienced snowfall. The hailstorm triggered traffic jams, snapped power supply, uprooted trees and blew off roofs in parts of Shimla district. Rain water flooded the main roads and entered some buildings in state capital. In Rajasthan, a dust storm hit places in Jodhpur and Bikaner divisions and isolated areas in Jaipur, Ajmer and Kota regions. Officials said no loss to life or major damage to property was reported till late evening. The Met department said many parts of the state could again see a dust storm or ...
Exclusive: Emirates facing cabin crew shortages - sources
DUBAI (Reuters) - Emirates is facing a cabin crew shortage and is struggling to fully staff some flights after a spate of resignations and other workforce constraints, several employees told Reuters.
Man dead as herd of wild elephants runs amok in C'garh village
A 45-year-old man was today trampled to death by wild elephants in Chhattisgarh's Surajpur district, officials said. The incident occurred in the small hours in Mohanpur village under Surajpur Forest Division, when the victim, identified asJeetan Singh, was visiting his relative's place, a forest official said. As per preliminary information, a herd of elephants stormed into the village, located around 450 kms away from here, late last night prompting villagers to flee for safety, he said. Singh, who was also trying to flee, got trapped and was trampled to death by pachyderms, he said. Forest and police personnel rushed to the spot and sent Singh's body for postmortem this morning, the official said. The kin of the deceased, who hailed from Jharkhand, will be given compensation as per the rules, the official added. The thickly forested northern Chhattisgarh, comprising Surguja, Korba, Raigarh, Jashpur, Surajpur and Balrampur districts, is notorious for the incidents of .
Govt plans localised, region-specific SMS service to alert people about natural disasters
The government is planning to launch a localised, region-specific SMS service to alert people about natural disasters, officials said today. According to the plan, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) will rope in the India Meteorological Department and telecom service providers to send the alerts free of cost in a particular cluster of village, sub-division or town about impending natural disasters. "The SMS alert will go to the mobile subscribers of that particular area and it will be a completely localised arrangement. The alert will not go to the nearby village or town which will not be hit by the disaster," an official privy to the development said. The idea came in the wake of thunderstorms and heavy rains claiming 134 lives in five states recently. The alert would be issued by the service providers of that particular area to all of their subscribers, another official said.
Delhi-NCR may witness thunderstorm over next 3 hrs: IMD
The Met department has issued a nowcast warning of thunderstorm for next three hours over Delhi, Gurgoan, Noida and the National Capital Region. The IMD alert is valid between 7:22 PM and 10:22 PM. In its nowcast, the IMD has also warned of moderate thunderstorm over Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, and Alwar and Bhiwani in Rajasthan. According to the alert, these places will witness "loud peals of thunder with frequent lightening flashes. with moderate to heavy spell of rain and maximum wind speed of 29 to 74 kilometers per hour.
Shimla hit by severe hailstorm
A severe hailstorm and rain lashed Shimla city in Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday.Earlier in the day, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) had issued a warning in the regard for Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh and its neighbouring hill states."In last 24 hours, rain has been recorded in all parts of Himachal Pradesh. Even today some parts might receive rainfall and hailstorm. Both Shimla and Kangra received hailstorm today. No damage reported," said Manmohan Singh, State IMD Director.A high-intensity dust storm hit New Delhi and Haryana on late Monday night.Besides the national capital, the high-speed winds were also recorded in NCR regions including Gurgaon and Noida, prompting authorities to issue advisory.So far, as many as 124 people have lost their lives due to high-intensity dust storms in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan with the highest casualties in UP, where about 73 persons were killed.In Rajasthan, 35 persons were killed, while 209 were left injured.
MeT warns of another spell of thunderstorm, squall
The IMD warned that another spell of thunderstorm accompanied by squall was expected to hit several parts of the country, including NCR-Delhi, on Tuesday, with the region witnessing a duststorm overnight.
Thunderstorms on May 2-3 claimed 134 lives
Thunderstorms and lightning on May 2-3 killed at least 134 people and injured more than 400 in five states, including the hardest-hit Uttar Pradesh, the Home Ministry said today. The highest 80 people were killed in Uttar Pradesh and nearly 100 others were injured in the state. A majority of the deaths and injuries were reported from the Agra region, a home ministry spokesperson said, giving the latest figures. Altogether 35 people were killed and another 209 were injured in Rajasthan. Eleven people were killed in Telangana, six were killed in Uttarakhand and two in Punjab. Nearly 100 people were also injured in Telangana, Uttarakhand and Punjab. Following thunderstorms, power supply was cut off in many areas as squall uprooted trees and snapped electricity cables. At least 20,000 electric poles were uprooted and 2,500 electric transformers were damaged during the two days. More than 1,800 houses were damaged and 800 cattles were also killed, the spokesperson said.
Odisha registers 1292 drowning deaths in 3 years
The Odisha government has registered 1292 deaths due to drowning in three years, with an average of almost 431 deaths per annum, an official said today. This is an average of three years between 2015-16 and 2017-18, an official at the Special Relief Commissioner's office here said. While 246 cases of drowning was reported in 2015-16, it went up to 428 in 2016-17 and 618 in 2017-18. This, however, did not include drowning deaths during floods as such cases were reported as flood related deaths, he said. Balasore district recorded the highest 129 cases of drowning during the three years, followed by 118 cases in Bhadrak and 103 in Jajpur. Most of the drowning deaths occurred during the months of July to November, the official said adding that out of 1292 cases during last three years, 783 deaths, which is about 61 percent, have occurred during these five months. The highest 197 deaths due to drowning reported in September, followed by 192 in August and 150 in ...
2 killed in Germany train collision
At least two people have been killed in a collision between a passenger and a freight train in Germany.
Is your building earthquake safe? Probably not
Though earthquakes have wreaked havoc in many parts of the country, Indian real estate and infrastructure sector still has lots more to learn -- and implement -- to ensure the safety of life and property.
FSSAI proposes labelling norm for food products with GM ingredients
Food regulator FSSAI has proposed that all packaged food items with 5 per cent or more genetically modified (GM) ingredients should declare the information through labelling. It had last month issued a draft of Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2018 and sought comments from stakeholders. The final regulation is likely in the next two months. "All food products having total Genetically Engineered (GE) ingredients 5% or more shall be labelled. The total GE ingredients shall be of top three ingredients in terms of their percentage in the product," the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) said in the draft. The labelling shall be as -- "Contains GMO/Ingredients derived from GMO", it added. In India, Bt cotton is the only GM crop allowed for commercial cultivation. The government has not permitted GM technology in cultivation of food crops like brinjal and mustard amid safety concerns. The FSSAI draft regulations prescribe the labelling ...
Official: 18 killed amid flooding, landslides in Rwanda
A Rwandan official says at least 18 people have been killed in landslides and flooding in the country's west. Jean Claude Twishime, spokesman for the Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugees, said landslides killed 15 people in Karongi district. He said two more people were killed in flooding and another was struck by lightning on Monday. He said some people are still missing. The landslides have washed away houses and destroyed farmland in Karongi and the nearby Rubavu district. Heavy rains and lightning strikes have been frequent so far this year in Rwanda, a country of many hills. Since January the Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugees has recorded 183 deaths and 215 injuries related to bad weather.
IMD issues 24-hr dust, thunderstorm warning in hill states
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday issued a mild thunderstorm and dust storm warning for the next 24 hours in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh and its neighbouring hill states."In the next 24 hours, hill states like Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh will continue to experience thunderstorms as they have experienced yesterday. The activity over Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana and north Rajasthan will reduce as compared to yesterday," said KJ Ramesh, Director General, IMD.A high-intensity dust storm hit New Delhi and Haryana on late Monday night.The high-speed winds hit the national capital and adjoining areas in NCR - including Gurgaon and Noida, prompting authorities to issue advisory.Till date, as many as 124 people lost their lives due to high-intensity dust storms in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan earlier this week with the highest casualties in UP, where about 73 persons were killed.In Rajasthan, 35 persons were killed, while 209 were left injured.
Trains collide in Germany, killing 2 and injuring 14
Authorities say two people have died and 14 have been injured after a passenger train hit a stationary cargo train in southern Germany. Police said those killed were the driver of the passenger train and a female passenger. One of the injured is in a serious condition. Markus Trieb, a spokesman for northern Swabia police, said Tuesday that the passenger train was traveling from Augsburg to Ingolstadt when it hit the cargo train near a station in the town of Aichach. He said the driver of the cargo train was uninjured. Authorities are investigating the cause of the crash. In a separate incident in Bavaria, two people were killed Monday when a train hit their car at a crossing near Lake Starnberg.
Russian helicopter crashes in Syria, killing both pilots: agencies
A Russian helicopter crashed in Syria killing both pilots, Moscow's defence ministry said in a statement carried by news agencies. "A Russian Ka-52 helicopter crashed while on a routine flight over the eastern regions of the Syrian Arab Republic. Both pilots were killed," the statement said, quoted by the TASS news agency. It added that the incident "may have been due to a technical malfunction" and that a rescue team recovered the bodies. The incident is the Russian army's second deadly crash in Syria in less than a week. On May 3, a Russian fighter jet crashed after taking off from an airbase, killing both pilots. Monday's accident brings Russia's official military losses in Syria to 88. Russian nationals are also regularly reported to be serving as paid mercenaries in Syria, and sometimes killed. The most recent large military loss acknowledged by Russia came when a transport plane crashed on landing at the Hmeimim airbase in March, killing all 39 people on board.