Page 773 - Disaster Accident
Fitch: Global Reinsurers to Rebound From Catastrophe Losses
Fitch sees reinsurer profitability improving in 2018, reflecting the normalization of catastrophe losses and marginally improved pricing. The global (re)insurance industry endured record catastrophe losses of $144 billion in 2017, driven by hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, as well as California wildfires and Mexican earthquakes. Fitch forecasts the underlying accident-year reinsurance combined ratio excluding catastrophes to improve slightly to 92.1% in 2018 versus 92.6% in 2017, reflecting marginal price improvement.
Accused driver involved in fatal accident held
Police have arrested the accused driver of speeding SUV that rammed into a cab at an underpass on Golf Course Road on Sunday, killing two people and severely injuring the IndiGo woman pilot heading to the airport. The SUV speeding down the wrong lane of Golf Course Road smashed into the IndiGo cab inside Sikanderpur underpass early Sunday morning, leaving woman pilot Suvarna Sripalli Gayatri (30) critically injured and the driver and guard in the cab's front seats dead. The occupants of the SUV had escaped from the spot after the accident. Mohammad Sazid was arrested on Monday evening after he was discharged from a hospital where he had gone for treatment following the accident, said Ravinder Kumar, PRO of Gurgaon Police. His two friends were also inside the SUV at the time of accident and suffered minor injuries. They were returning from Rishikesh and mistakenly entered the underpass from wrong side of the 16-lane Golf Course on Sunday morning, Kumar said. The victims were taken to ..
Two men burnt alive as ambulance catches fire
Two men were charred to death and another injured when the ambulance they were sleeping in caught fire in south Delhi's Sheikh Sarai area in the early hours today, said an officer from the Delhi Fire Service. A call was received at 12.50 am about the blaze and two fire tenders were rushed to the spot. The deceased were identified as Guddu and Rahul, he said. The injured man was identified as 32-year-old Subodh. He sustained 40 per cent burn injuries and is admitted to Safdarjung Hospital.
2 new lava vents open up in Hawaii neighborhood
Two new cracks in the ground emitting lava and gas have opened up in a Hawaii community where 35 structures have burned down. Officials say there are 12 fissures in Leilani Estates. Residents of the evacuated subdivision are being allowed to check on their properties from 7 am to 6 pm every day until further notice. Officials say residents must be prepared to leave on short notice. Police arrested two people for ignoring commands to stop at a roadblock outside the community. Acting Hawaii County Mayor Wil Okabe says it's difficult to tell from aerial surveys how many are homes and how many are other uninhabited structures. The state's Insurance Division says those impacted by the mandatory evacuations, fire, smoke or noxious fumes may be able to start claims. The state says homeowners should check with insurance companies about their policies.
Two charred to death after ambulance catches fire
Two people were charred to death and one got critically injured after an ambulance caught fire in Sheikh Sarai area of Delhi on late Monday night.The injured has been taken to Safdarjung hospital for treatment.The three were sleeping inside the ambulance when it allegedly caught fire from a mosquito coil."The ambulance caught fire due to Mortein and thunderstorm. The massive fire engulfed two more ambulances," said an eyewitness and driver of the ambulance.The Malviya Nagar police are inquiring the incident.
2 dead as trains collide in Germany
At least two people were killed and several others where hurt when two trains collided in Germany, the national rail company said. The Deutsche Bahn network operator said that a commuter service hit a freight train late yesterday between Ingolstadt and Augsburg in Germany's southern Bavaria region. "There are some seriously injured and others only lightly," a Deutsche Bahn spokesman told the German DPA press agency. The company did not immediately provide additional details into the possible causes of the collision.
Dust storm hits Delhi, NCR, warning issued
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.According to India Meteorological Department (IMD) thunderstorm accompanied with light rain and gusty winds would occur in Delhi and adjoining NCR including Rohtak, Bhiwani, Jhajjar Gurugram, Bagpat, Meerut and Ghaziabad during next two to three hours.The Delhi government and Delhi traffic police have also issued directives following the alert.Residents have also been advised to stay indoors and take precaution if going out.In the wake of the storm, all evening schools will also remain shut today in Delhi while Haryana had already announced school holidays for the first two days of the week. All schools in Ghaziabad district will also remain shut today.Earlier in the day, the IMD issued a mild thunderstorm and dust storm warning for the next 48 hours in New Delhi and ..
Food bill on train: IRCTC asks rly zones to deploy 10 POS machines in each train
The Railways has issued instructions to all its zones to ensure at least 10 point of sale (POS) machines on each train under their jurisdiction so that passengers are provided bills for food items they purchase. In a letter issued today, the IRCTC said that despite it being mandatory for the licensee to issue bills to passengers for food items through POS machines, the hand held electronic bill printing devices were not deployed in trains and cases of overcharging were "continuously being received, resulting in bad publicity for the IRCTC". IRCTC is the ticketing and catering arm of the Indian Railways. "Zones are hereby advised to ensure the provision and operation of minimum 10 POS machine in each mail/express trains under their jurisdiction with immediate effect. Licensee must be immediately directed to deploy these machines in all trains run by them," the letter said. It also asked zones to carry out inspections to check whether the directions were being followed and instructed ...
Squall, dust storm hit Delhi
A dust storm, with a wind speed of 70 kilometres per hour, hit the national capital tonight followed by a squall, bringing down the temperature after a hot day, the weatherman said. The high-velocity wind swept through Delhi around 11.15 PM, an official at the Safdarjung observatory said. The MeT department had issued a warning message at 8.53 pm, saying a spell of rain/thunderstorm accompanied with squall is likely to occur over Delhi and NCR during in the next three-four hours. It has forecast rains and gusty winds for tomorrow as well. It was a hot day in the national capital with the maximum temperature settling at 39.6 degrees Celsius, a notch above the season's average. Earlier in the day, the Delhi government decided to close all evening schools tomorrow and put search and rescue teams on standby in the wake of the meteorological (MeT) department issuing a warning of heavy rain and thunderstorm. The traffic police has alerted their field formations to be ready to remove ...
Weather warning: Delhi govt orders closure of evening schools tomorrow, teams on standby
The Delhi government today decided to close all evening schools tomorrow and put search and rescue teams on standby in the wake of the meteorological (MeT) department issuing a warning of heavy rain and thunderstorm. The traffic police has alerted their field formations to be ready to remove obstacles such as fallen trees and asked commuters to check weather conditions before travelling. The Delhi Metro, too, has decided to exercise extreme caution in running of trains in the wake of the warning. The government said that all evening schools (second shift which starts from the afternoon) will be shut tomorrow after chief secretary Anshu Prakash chaired a high-level meeting to review the preparedness in the wake of the warning. "All evening schools will remain closed tomorrow following the weather warning," a senior government official told PTI. The government has also asked other schools to not hold outdoor activities and extracurricular activities between 3 pm to 7 pm during which ...
Stubble burning fire disrupts railway traffic in Punjab
Railway traffic between Ludhiana and Jalandhar was hit today and three trains had to be stopped after fire from stubble burning reached near a track close to the Mauli railway station, around five km from here, an official said. Phagwara Railway Station Superintendent Gyan Chand said the Amritsar-bound 12317 Up Kolkata-Amritsar Akal Takht Express was held up at Gate No 80 near the station for 39 minutes. It halted there at 6:44 pm and passed through Phagwara at 7:23 pm, he said, adding that it left the site after a fire brigade controlled the flames in the fields Likewise, the 12412 Amritsar-Chandigarh Intercity Express and the 12241 Chandigarh- Amritsar Superfast Express were also held up at Phagwara and Mauli-Goraya railway stations, he said. Later, traffic was restored, Chand said.
One killed, houses damaged in nor'wester in Tripura
An elderly woman was killed and over 1,800 houses were damaged after a nor'wester struck various parts of Tripura, officials said today. Khowai was the worst affected district in the state, they said. Around 2,500 people were forced to take shelter in government buildings when the storm hit the state on Sunday, a state government official said. Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb visited the affected areas in the district and reviewed the situation along with district administration officials and police officers, the superintendent of police of Khowai district, Krisnendu Chakraverty said. The chief minister has announced Rs 5 lakh compensation for the family of the deceased woman, and Rs 1 lakh each to various families for repairing damaged houses, Chakraverty said. A relief amount of Rs 5,000 each will be given to all evacuees, he said. "A 60-year-old woman was killed when lightning struck her at Shanital village in Khowai district, 50 km from Agartala," Krisnendu ...
Dust storm hits Chandigarh, parts of Punjab, Haryana
Dust storms hit Chandigarh and parts of Punjab and Haryana this evening with many residents preferring to stay indoors in view of the IMD forecasting thunderstorm and squall tomorrow in several parts of north India. There were reports of power supply getting disrupted at some places in the states. The Haryana government has cancelled leave of all officials in civic bodies across the state, in view of the IMD alert of thunderstorm and squall. Fire and other emergency services, too, have been directed to remain alert. The directions were issued by the state government after a meeting of Haryana Urban Local Bodies Minister Kavita Jain with senior officers of her department here. The meeting was called to review the arrangements made in view of the alert issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) . It is the responsibility of the state government to make people aware and to take precautionary steps to prevent any kind of loss to lives and property, Jain said. She directed that ...
Delhi schools in Tuesday afternoon shift to shut, advisory issued
The Delhi government on Monday said that all city schools in the afternoon shift will remain closed on Tuesday, following a Met warning of thunderstorms, squalls, and gusty winds in many parts of India.
Thunderstorm warning issued in several regions, Delhi shuts schools
Delhi government on Monday asked all evening schools to remain close tomorrow following weather department's warning about heavy rains and thunderstorm.Additionally, the Delhi Traffic Police alerted the field formations to be ready to remove obstacles like fallen trees or soft structures.This decision came hours after Indian Meteorological Department issued a mild thunderstorm and dust storm warning for the next 48 hours in New Delhi and its neighbouring states.According to latest reports, a massive sandstorm has hit Rajasthan's Khajuwala town.Last week, over 100 people died and 180 people were injured in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh following massive thunderstorm and squall at various places in these two states.According to weather department scientists, the thunderstorm was triggered by high temperatures in Northern India and a western disturbance over north Pakistan and adjoining Jammu and Kashmir and winds from the Bay of Bengal.This resulted in a cyclonic circulation over Haryana .
Delhi schools to remain shut on Tuesday afternoon
In view of a warning by the weatherman of thunderstorms and squalls in many parts of India, including the national capital, the Delhi government on Monday decided to keep all schools closed on Tuesday afternoon, an official said.
2 killed, 22 injured in road accident in J-K's Rajouri
A 5-year-old girl was among two persons killed and 22 others injured when a vehicle met with an accident in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district this evening, police said. A vehicle met with an accident as it skidded off the road and rolled down into a gorge in Rajouri resulting in death of driver and a minor 5-year old girl, a police officer said. Police and Army personnel rushed to the spot and rescued the injured people and shifted them to hospital, he said. Further details are awaited.
Artem Energy Future plans to develop e-scooter
Homegrown electric vehicle technology company Artem Energy Future today announced its plans to develop an electric scooter named Artem M9. Artem M9 will be the safest e-scooter equipped with ADAS (advanced driver-assistance systems), previously seen only in luxury cars, and will run at a maximum speed of 90 km/hour with a range of 100 kms per charge, the company said in a release. Charging of the scooter will be provided by an on-board fast charger, and by swapping batteries. "Range anxiety is a key factor against the adoption of electric vehicles. With the M9, we mitigate this by cracking that psychological barrier of 100 kms of range, as well as provide the flexibility of charging or swapping, as is convenient," said Rajit Arya, founder and chief executive officer, Artem Energy Future. The company is in the process of raising series A round of investment and plans to have three such scooters in the portfolio over the next five years. The M9 will be followed by the M9-A
MeT alert: Haryana cancels leave of all civic body officials
The Haryana government has cancelled leave of all officials in municipalities across the state, in view of the IMD issuing an alert forecasting thunderstorm and squall tomorrow in several parts of north India. Fire and other emergency services, too, have been directed to remain alert. The directions were issued by the state government after a meeting of Haryana Urban Local Bodies Minister Kavita Jain with senior officers of her department here. The meeting was called to review the arrangements made in view of the alert issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) . It is the responsibility of the state government to make people aware and to take precautionary steps to prevent any kind of loss to lives and property, Jain said. She directed that there should not be any dereliction of duties and all officials concerned should discharge their duties with utmost dedication. The IMD today issued an alert forecasting that several parts of north India could witness thunderstorm and ...
Floods in north-east becoming a perpetual phenomenon: DoNER minister
Floods in the north-east have virtually become a perpetual phenomenon and a serious and comprehensive strategy is required to handle it, Union minister Jitendra Singh said today. Floods in the north-east, particularly in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur, have virtually become a perpetual phenomenon, occurring year after year and causing tremendous loss to lives and property, Singh said after a research report on the Assam floods, prepared by the Delhi Alumni Association of Assam (DAAA), was presented to him here. The minister for Development of Northeastern Region (DoNER) said a serious and comprehensive strategy to avoid such occurrences again and again was needed urgently. He said the DoNER Ministry had, on its own, helped set up the "Brahmaputra Study Centre" at the Gauhati University. The Centre had started functioning in this regard and the first major research study, initiated a few months ago, dealt with the ways and means to control and prevent the occurrence of floods, ...