Page 780 - Disaster Accident
UP CM cuts short Karnataka campaign, rushing back
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanth, currently on an election campaign in Karnataka, is rushing back tonight to visit storm-ravaged Agra, a senior official said today. The chief minister will arrive in Agra tonight and visit the calamity-hit areas tomorrow morning, Principal Secretary Information Avanish Awasthi said. Adityanath was criticised yesterday by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for remaining in Karnataka even after his own state was hit by the storm. "I am sorry your CM is needed here in Karnataka," Siddaramaiah had tweeted. "I am sure he will return soon & attend to his work there." Adityanath will review the relief and restoration efforts in Agra district, the UP official said. The chief minister will later leave for Kanpur to monitor the relief work there and in nearby districts, Awasthi said. A high-intensity storm ravaged parts of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan on Wednesday night, leaving 73 people dead and 91 injured in Adityanath's state alone. Agra ...
No death in bus mishap in East Champaran in Bihar: Dist administration
The East Champaran district administration in Bihar today made it clear that no one was killed when a Delhi-bound bus fell into a 20-feet deep pit and burst into flames, saying all those on board have been accounted for. Shortly after the accident at 5 pm yesterday, state Disaster Management Minister Dinesh Chandra Yadav had said that there was apprehension of more than 20 people having been killed. In a tweet a couple of hours later, Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi had said the casualty figure might go up to 24 or more. East Champaran District Magistrate Raman Kumar today said that no one died in the accident and that a total of 13 passengers, who had boarded the bus from its starting point Muzaffarpur, were undergoing treatment for injuries. Secretary State Disaster Management department Pratyay Amrit also said no one was killed in the mishap that occurred on National Highway 28, about 30 km from Motihari town and over 120 km from here. "All the 13 passengers have been ...
Thunderstorm, lightning killed 124 in 2 days: MHA
As many as 124 people have lost their lives due to thunderstorms and lightning in five states in the last two days, the Home Ministry said today. The highest 73 people were killed in Uttar Pradesh, 35 killed in Rajasthan, eight in Telangana, six in Uttarakhand and two in Punjab. A fresh warning has been issued about a possible thunderstorm accompanied with squall which may hit four states -- West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh -- today, a home ministry spokesperson said.
Relief ops in storm-hit Raj districts picked up pace: Kataria
Rajasthan Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria said efforts to bring back water and electricity supply in the three dust storm-affected districts of the state have picked up pace and claimed that relief was provided in minimum time. At least 36 people lost their lives and over 100 were injured as winds over 100 kmph wreaked havoc in Alwar, Bharatpur and Dholpur districts on the night of May 2. Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje visited Bharatpur and Dholpur districts to condole the families affected by the dust storm. Asserting that the BJP government has worked to provide relief to the affected families in minimum time, Kataria said, "I challenge the Congress to put forth the records if they had provided relief to affected families in such a short span of time." "Work to estimate the damage caused by the storm is still on," he said told reporters in Udaipur. Official sources said the government has provided Rs 4 lakh each to the family of the deceased. According to an official ...
Kenya floods leave 112 dead in two months: Red Cross
Flooding across Kenya triggered by weeks of torrential rain has left 112 people dead and displaced hundreds of thousands of others, the Red Cross said today. Kenya Red Cross Secretary General Abbas Gullet made an appeal for $5 million (four million euros) to help those affected in 32 counties. Since early March, "112 people have lost their lives countrywide," he told a press conference. "About 48,177 households have been displaced so far and this translates to 260,200 people that are displaced," he said. Gullet said over 21,000 acres (8,500 hectares) of crops had been destroyed and some 20,000 animals washed away, while more than a hundred schools had been affected, many of which remain closed. The disaster comes after three failed rainy seasons inflicted a crippling drought that sent food prices soaring and left more than three million people requiring food aid.
Waste landslide at Myanmar jade mining site kills 14
A landslide of a mound of mining waste has killed at least 14 people in northern Myanmar's jade mining region. An official in Kachin state's Hpakant township says the accident also left six people injured and an unknown number believed missing. A search is continuing. Hpakant, 950 kilometers (600 miles) north of Myanmar's biggest city, Yangon, is the epicenter of the world's biggest and most lucrative jade mining industry. Jade is normally mined by heavy equipment that generates huge mounds of waste soil, which easily causes landslides. People often settle near the mounds to scavenge for jade in the precariously high piles of waste. Fatal accidents are not rare and more than 100 people were killed in a single landslide in November 2015.
China condoles loss of lives in India
China on Friday expressed grief over the death of nearly 100 people in dust storms and lightning strikes in India.
Shocking: Now, Bihar minister says no deaths in Motihar bus mishap
A day after it was reported that 27 people had died after a bus fell into a ditch on National Highway-28, Bihar's Disaster Management Minister, Dinesh Chandra Yadav, on Friday, shockingly said that there were no casualties.Yadav told ANI, "The information of deaths was wrong. Yes I said 27 people have died, it was based on information from local sources, but, I also said that only the final report will be considered.""There was a booking for 13 people. Eight were taken to hospital by the authorities, there was no sign of the remaining five and no bodies were found. They might have left the spot on their own," he bizarrely said.What is even more surprising is that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had also on Thursday expressed his grief over the accident and assured all possible help to the families of the deceased.The mishap happened at around 3 p.m. on Thursday afternoon when the bus driver attempted to avoid crashing with a two-wheeler and overturned.It fell into a pit and caught ..
30 suffer burn injuries in Stamford Hill explosion
At least 30 people sustained burn injuries on Wednesday night (local time) in an incident of explosion at Stamford Hill in London.A group of Jewish people had gathered for Lag baOmer event when they lit a borne fire as part of their celebrations. Soon after, the borne fire exploded, as reported by the Anadolu Agency."Ten individuals suffered minor injuries following large fire lit as part of local Jewish community celebration in Ravensdale Road, Stamford Hill," Anadolu Agency quoted a police statement.Further 20 other suffered minor injuries as they tried to escape from the location.There were a group of cell phones being thrown in the borne fire which has reportedly led to the fatal blast.Jewish ambulance service Hatzola and the London Ambulance Service arrived at the scene to provide treatment to the injured.Hackney Police of the Central East BCU took to its official Twitter handle to inform ? "No criminal allegations reported. No serious injuries."Till now no official investigation
India's MET dept. predicts thunderstorm for several states
In the wake of the dust storms that swept through Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, claiming over 60 lives in the two states, the India Meteorological Department, on Friday, released a statement forecasting thunderstorms and gusty winds in several Indian states.The forecast suggests that on May 5, thunderstorms accompanied with squall is likely to be experienced in several parts of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and Himachal Pradesh (HP), while thunderstorms, along with gusty wind, is predicted for Uttarakhand and Punjab.It also predicts that heat wave conditions will prevail over Western Rajasthan.It further says thunderstorm, accompanied with squall and hail, is expected in J&K and HP on May 7, while thunderstorms accompanied with gusty winds would be prevalent in Uttarakhand and Punjab.Heavy rain is expected in North-Eastern states of Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura on the same day, while thunderstorms/dust storm in Rajasthan.Meanwhile, a Go Air Flight, G8-386,
Emergency declared in Hawaii after volcano erupts
The Kilauea volcano, one of the world's most active, has erupted near a residential area on Hawaii's largest island, prompting a local state of emergency and an evacuation of 1,700 residents.
China expresses condolences to victims of dust storm in UP, Rajasthan
China today expressed condolences to the families of victims of dust storm in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, in which over 100 people were killed. "We express sympathy and our sincere condolences," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Hua Chunying told media here. "We mourn for the victims," she said and wished speedy recovery of the injured. A severe dust storm followed by thunder showers hit parts of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan on May 2 killing at least 109 people and leaving a trail of destruction. Nearly 200 others were injured as the massive dust storm followed by thunder showers, snapped power lines and sent tin roofs and street hoardings flying in parts of eastern Rajasthan and the adjoining areas of Uttar Pradesh.
UN says 80 killed in weeks of flooding in Kenya
The UN humanitarian agency says 80 people have been reported dead and hundreds of thousands displaced from their homes since March due to heavy rainfall in Kenya. The UN statement says 244,400 people have been displaced, the majority of them in Tana River, Kilifi and Mandera counties. Floods from seasonal rains hit as the East African nation was recovering from a devastating drought last year that affected half of its counties. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in a separate statement estimates 100 killed in the flooding. It also warns that the floods could trigger or worsen outbreaks of diseases such as malaria and cholera.
Hawaii volcano shoots lava into sky; evacuations ordered
Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupted today, sending lava shooting into the air in a residential neighborhood and prompting mandatory evacuation orders for nearby homes. Hawaii County said steam and lava poured out of a crack in Leilani Estates, which is near the town of Pahoa on the Big Island. Footage shown on local television showed lava spurting into the sky from a crack in a road. Aerial drone footage showed a line of lava snaking through a forest. Resident Jeremiah Osuna captured drone footage of the lava burning through the trees, a scene he described as a "curtain of fire." "It sounded like if you were to put a bunch of rocks into a dryer and turn it on as high as you could. You could just smell sulfur and burning trees and underbrush and stuff," he told Honolulu television station KHON. Lava fountains were shooting 150 feet (46 meters) in the air, and molten lava spread out over an area about 200 yards (183 meters) wide behind one house in Leilani Estates, Big Island resident ...
Agra put on 72-hour weather alert till Monday
The weather office on Friday sounded a 72-hour alert till Monday here in Uttar Pradesh, Agra District Magistrate Gaurav Dayal said and issued a detailed advisory to manage any imminent disaster.
Arizona wildfire has destroyed 30 homes, 17 other structures
Officials say a week-old wildfire burning in an Arizona forest has destroyed 30 homes and 17 other structures. Fire management officials included the count of destroyed or heavily damaged buildings in a Thursday update. The fire is 12 per cent contained. Coconino County spokesman Matt Rudig tells the Arizona Daily Sun that most homes lost to the fire were second residences. The fire near Clints Well, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Flagstaff, has burned 19.2 square miles (50 square kilometers). Fire officials say it spread from an illegally built and abandoned campfire. Cooler and damper weather aided firefighters this week but temperatures are expected to rise this weekend. Officials are considering when they can lift evacuation notices for residences in the area.
Hawaii volcano erupts, prompts evacuations
The Kilauea volcano, one of the world's most active volcanoes, has erupted leading to the evacuation of around 1,700 people in the area, media reported.
Thousands urged to leave homes after Hawaii volcano eruption: official
Up to 10,000 people have been asked to leave their homes on Hawaii's Big Island following the eruption of the Kilauea volcano that came after a series of recent earthquakes. "Department of Public Works reports steam and lava emissions from a crack in Leilani Subdivision in the area of Mohala Street," the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency wrote in a Facebook post. An official added the zone is home to about 10,000 people, and was a "voluntary evacuation." US Geological Survey authorities of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory unit were both on the ground and headed into the air to assess the eruption, which began yesterday around 4:45 pm local time . At 10:30 am a 5.0 magnitude earthquake south of the Puu Oo volcano cone triggered rockfalls and potential collapse into a crater on the volcano, according to USGS. "A short-lived plume of ash produced by this event lofted skyward and is continuing to dissipate as it drifts southwest from Puu Oo," an advisory from USGS said, warning that ...
5.0-magnitude earthquake rattles Hawaii's Big Island
The US Geological Survey reports a 5.0-magnitude earthquake has struck Hawaii's Big Island. The temblor today is the latest and largest in a series of hundreds of small earthquakes to shake the island's active volcano, Kilauea, since the Puu Oo vent crater floor collapsed and caused magma to rush into new underground chambers. Scientists say a new eruption in the region is possible. The quake was centered about 6.9 kilometers deep on the south flank of Kilauea. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says the earthquake was not strong enough to trigger a tsunami. Earthquakes in the region have been happening consistently since the Puu Oo crater collapsed on Monday. "It appears that ground shaking from the earthquake caused rockfalls in the Puu Oo crater on Kilauea Volcano's East Rift Zone, which resulted in a short-lived plume of reddish ash rising above the cone," said Tina Neal, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory's chief scientist in a statement. Hawaii County officials reported Wednesday that
Under-construction flyover collapses, 1 killed
A labourer was killed and another critically injured when a portion of an under-construction flyover caved in at Bomikhal area here tonight, police said. Around eight labourers were working at the site when the incident occurred. "One labourer has died and another sustained serious injuries in the incident," Khorda District Collector Nirmal Mishra said after visiting the site. The victim has been identified as Ajay Vumicha (38) of Sundergarh. He died in the capital hospital while the injured man, Ananda Kumar Nayak, was shifted to a private hospital, the police said. A fire brigade team and local residents launched a rescue operation soon after the accident. The collector said a high-level inquiry would be conducted to ascertain the circumstances that led to the incident. A labourer said that iron railings were being installed for a pillar when it's support snapped and it collapsed. Some of them got trapped under the railing. The incident occurred close to the site where a portion of .