Page 779 - Disaster Accident
6.9-magnitude earthquake hits Hawaii
An earthquake measuring 6.9 magnitude on the Richter scale jolted the Big Island of Hawaii on Friday, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.
Major quake hits Hawaii, prompts further volcano eruptions
A magnitude 6.9 earthquake shook Hawaii's Big Island today, prompting fresh eruptions of a volcano that is threatening residential neighborhoods, the US Geological Survey said. It said the shallow temblor struck at 12:32 pm (2232 GMT) and was centered on the south flank of the Kilauea volcano, which first erupted yesterday after a series of quakes on the island. It had a depth of five kilometers. "This is in almost exactly the same location as the deadly 1975 M 7.1 quake," USGC said in a tweet.
Death toll from Kenya floods climbs to 112
The death toll from more than a month of flooding across much of Kenya has reached 112, while upwards of 260,000 people have been displaced, the Red Cross said on Friday.
Siddaramaiah supports Jihadi elements in K'taka: Adityanath
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday slammed his Karnataka counterpart Siddaramaiah stating that the latter is supporting the growth of Jihadi elements in the state.Continuing his tirade against the Siddaramaiah-led government, Adityanath said people in power who support them (Jihadi elements) should be removed."Siddaramaiah's government is letting Jihadi elements in the state grow. Be it Uttar Pradesh or Karnataka, terrorism should not have space in our country," Adityanath said while addressing an election rally in Bagalkot district.Later Siddaramaiah took a swipe at the Uttar Pradesh chief minister for not being available at a time when his state had been hit by a massive thunderstorm which claimed over 70 lives."At least 64 people have lost their lives due to a storm in Uttar Pradesh. My heartfelt condolences to the families who have lost their loved ones. I am sorry your CM is needed here in Karnataka. I am sure he will return soon and attend to his work there,"
Comatose patient, allegedly bitten by rat, passes away
A 27-year-old comatose patient at a civic hospital here, who was allegedly bitten by a rat while in ICU last month, died yesterday, hospital sources said. Parminder Gupta was hospitalised after he met with a road accident last year. After intitial treatment at a hospital in Thane, his parents admitted him to the civic-run Bal Thackeray Trauma Care Hospital in Jogeshwari. A hospital official said that he slipped into coma while undergoing a brain surgery. His family had alleged that a rat nibbled Parminder's eyelid on April 23 while he was in the ICU, but the hospital administration denied this charge. However, an inquiry has been ordered, said the hospital official. The official also claimed that doctors had advised his family to take him to Cooper Hospital for further treatment, but they refused. "Doctors at our hospital did their best to save the life of the patient but could not save him," the official said.
Modi announces ex-gratia for storm victims
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday approved an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each from Prime Ministers National Relief Fund for the next of kin of those who have lost their lives due to duststorm in various parts of north India on May 2.
Rajasthan CM meets storm-affected in Bharatpur, Dholpur
Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on Friday visited several villages in Bharatpur and Dholpur and met the people affected by a dust storm that lashed the two districts apart from Alwar.
Adityanath calls Siddaramaiah a 'liar'
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday called his Karnataka counterpart a "liar" after Siddaramaiah took a swipe at the former for being in poll-bound Karnataka at the time of dust storm that claimed over 70 lives in UP.Adityanath was earlier scheduled to continue campaigning in Karnataka till May 5 and leave after addressing two more election meetings."Siddaramaiah jhooth bolne mein bahut siddhast (perfect) hain. (Siddaramaiah is perfect in speaking lies). I am personally monitoring relief work in the areas affected due to heavy rain and dust storms in Uttar Pradesh," Adityanath told ANI.Adityanath said he will reach Agra tonight to monitor the rescue and restoration works and added that he will then leave for Kanpur to supervise the relief efforts there.Yesterday, over 100 people died in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, owing to severe dust storms which hit several parts of western and northern India.In Uttar Pradesh alone, the high-intensity dust storm left over 70 ...
Dust storm: PM announces ex gratia for kin of dead
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today approved an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for the next of kin of those killed in a dust storm which had hit parts of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan on Wednesday. The assistance will be provided from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund The prime minister has also approved Rs 50,000 each for those seriously injured due to the storm, a statement from the PMO said here. More than 100 people were killed as the dust storm whipped through parts of Rajasthan, including Dholpur and Bharatpur, and Uttar Pradesh, bringing down houses, uprooting trees and electricity poles and flattening crops.
PRS of railways to be suspended temporarily on Sat, Sunday
The passenger reservation system of the Northern Railway, the North Central Railway, the North Western Railway and the North Eastern Railway will remain temporarily suspended for around three hours tomorrow and day after, an official statement said today. The services will be closed from 10.30 pm on May 5 to 12.15 am on May 6 and again from 05.15 am to 06.25 am the same day. "A routine electrical maintenance activity is scheduled to be carried out in the passenger reservation system due to which PRS services will remain temporarily suspended," a statement from the Northern Railway said. Consequently, Passenger Reservation Terminals over the Northern Railway, the North Central Railway, the North Western Railway and the North Eastern Railway will remain affected during the closure hours. However, services of 139/NTES will remain available at all times, it said.
Thunderstorm likely in western UP tomorrow
The meteorological department today said that thunderstorm, accompanied with gusty winds, was "very likely" at isolated places in western parts of Uttar Pradesh tomorrow. A spokesperson of the MeT department said Saharanpur, Muzzafarnagar, Bijnore, Baghpat and Meerut might be hit by storm. On Wednesday, a high-intensity hail and dust storm ravaged parts of Uttar Pradesh leaving 75 people dead and 87 injured in 23 districts of the state, official sources said. They said 331 cattle had perished in the storm in which Agra district was the worst affected.
HC gives more time to DGCA to finalise norms on flight duty hours
The Delhi High Court today granted eight more weeks to aviation regulator DGCA to finalise fresh norms on flight duty and rest hours for cabin crew and pilots. Justice Rajiv Shakdher, while granting time to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to finalise a fresh Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) on flight and duty time limitations (FDTL), said the existing scheme will continue to operate till then. The court also gave the regulator time till May 15 to upload the draft CAR. The order came on an application moved by the DGCA, which on February 2 had been directed to come out with a fresh CAR within 12 weeks which expired on May 2. The direction for a fresh CAR had come on a plea by an NGO--Dedicated to Aviation Safety and Health--and some Air India cabin crew members working on long-haul flights, who had challenged the existing 2016 rules on the ground that it did not take into account the fatigue faced by them due to their duty hours and the time they get for rest. The NGO .
Nine die in rain-related incidents in Telangana
Nine people died in rain-related incidents in Telangana, the government said today a day after unseasonal showers accompanied by strong winds lashed some parts of the state. "We have received reports from various districts that nine persons died yesterday in rain related incidents. Out of the nine, two deaths have been confirmed due to thunderbolts," Commissioner for Disaster Relief R V Chandravadan said. The respective district collectors would examine and certify the exact cause of the death of the other seven persons so that they would be eligible for ex-gratia paid by the government in such natural calamities, he told PTI here. Besides the casualty, the unseasonal summer rain coupled with strong winds that hit some parts of the state yesterday also caused damage to crops. In some parts of the capital city, water logging was witnessed while over 100 trees uprooted by the strong winds fell on roads, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) officials said.
Rlys to seek feedback from women commuters to improve services for them
Women travelling in ladies coaches on the Western Railway will now issue a report card for the zone on its amenities for them, officials said today. To mark 26 years of the first ladies special suburban train that ran between Churchgate and Borivali on May 5, 1992, the Western Railway has decided to take feedback from women passengers on how they can improve its services for them. "We will be distributing a feedback form to the women commuters and take their opinion to improve our services, specially in terms of maintaining security. Senior officials of the zone will also be interacting with them," Western Railways spokesperson Ravinder Bhakar said. The first ladies special train, flagged off on the Western Railways, was initially run between Churchgate and Borivali and further extended up to Virar in 1993. To instill a sense of safety and security among the women passengers, the Indian Railways has decided to install CCTV cameras in the coaches, a statement from the ministry said ...
After the storm, grief and disbelief echo through Agra's villages
Ram Bharose stares blankly at the dark, still damp patch of earth where his son and nephew bled to death two nights ago, when a high-intensity dust storm reduced to a crumpled heap his home and his family's hopes for the future. Walls crumbled, roofs collapsed and tin sheets flew through the air as winds of over 100 kmph raged through parts of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan on the night of May 2, killing more than 100 people in the two states. More than 40 people died in Agra district alone, officials said. The cries of those grieving for their dead and those in hospital with lacerations, broken bones and head injuries echo across the region, just beyond the spanking expressway linking the national capital to the state. But Ram Bharose has been stunned into silence. His son Sunil Kumar and nephew Gautam Singh, one 20 years old and the other two years older, were amongst those killed, the names beyond the bland statistics. The family in Mahuakhera village had been prepared for impending ..
17 dead in Myanmar jade mine landslide
A landslide at a jade mine in northern Myanmar has killed 17 people, local authorities said today, the latest disaster to hit the murky multi-billion dollar industry. Myanmar is the world's top producer of the near-translucent green gem in trade fuelled by demand from neighbouring China. But the poorly regulated industry is notorious for its links to cronies from Myanmar's former junta and for the dangers it poses to those who scrabble across a moonscape of environmental destruction hoping to strike it rich. The accident early today occurred in a mining compound near Wak Khar village in Kachin State's Hpakant township, the epicentre of the perilous work. "A wall of rock fell after people tried to dig for jade under it," local administrative officer Nilar Myint told AFP. "We have now found 17 dead bodies and we have sent nine survivors to hospital," she added. A second source involved in the rescue and recovery process confirmed the death toll. A number of deadly landslides has struck .
Jaipur doppler radar dysfunctional when dust storm hit UP, Raj
The doppler radar in the Jaipur Met office, a critical component in the accurate forecasting of weather events, was not working the night of May 2 when a high velocity dust storm cut a swathe of destruction through parts of Rajasthan, killing at least 35 people, an IMD official said. The doppler, a product of Finnish company Vaisala, has been dysfunctional for the last 10 days, said Devendra Pradhan, additional director general of the India Meteorological Department. "The doppler radar of Jaipur has been dysfunctional for the last 10 days due to some technical issues. The engineers of Vaisala, a Finnish company, are here. The problem will be rectified in the next two-three days," Pradhan told PTI. Besides doppler radars, the IMD depends on observatories and satellites for accurate weather forecasts. A doppler radar helps in better assessment of the severity of a hailstorm, thunderstorms, wind movement and also helps in nowcasts, weather alerts issued for two-three hours, Pradhan ...
Pb records 15.7% decline in road fatalities in 2017
Crackdown against drunk driving and over-speeding has led to almost 16 per cent decline in road accident deaths in Punjab last year, a senior traffic police official said. He said that 12 people lost their lives every day last year due to road accidents in Punjab. Having set a target of 10 per cent reduction in accidental deaths every year, Punjab Traffic police sought more scientific equipment like alcometers, speed guns and deployment of additional 2,000 traffic personnel. It also stressed on holding more traffic awareness programmes and honouring good samaritans. Addressing the media here, Punjab Additional Director General of Police (Traffic) S S Chauhan said Punjab has witnessed 15.7 per cent reduction in road fatalities in 2017, the sharpest decline in number of deaths. Punjab witnessed 4,278 deaths due to road accidents in 2017, as against 5,077 fatalities in 2016, he said. The first quarter of this year also witnessed a sharp decline in road accidents with 1,070 accidental ...
12 killed in Myanmar landslide
At least 12 people died and eight others were injured due to a landslide in Myanmar's Hpakant mining region on Friday, the country's information ministry said.
Fresh thunderstorm, squall warning for 4 states, 124 deaths in 2 days: MHA
A fresh warning about thunderstorm and squall hitting West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh today has been issued, the home ministry said, and noted that 124 people were killed while more than 300 injured in five states due to thunderstorm and lightning in the last two days. The maximum casualty was reported in Uttar Pradesh where 73 people were killed, while 91 others were injured. Most of the deaths and injuries in the state took place in Agra region, a home ministry spokesperson said. In Rajasthan, altogether 35 people were killed and 206 injured, while eight people were killed in Telangana, six in Uttarakhand and two in Punjab. Nearly 100 people were injured in Telangana, Uttarakhand and Punjab. Following the thunderstorms, power supply was cut off in many areas as squall uprooted trees and snapped electricity cables. At least 12,000 electric poles were uprooted and 2,500 transformers damaged in the affected states in the last two days. The home ministry spokesperson said .