Page 954 - Disaster Accident
Magnitude 7.6 earthquake strikes off Honduras coast: USGS
A powerful and shallow 7.6- magnitude earthquake has hit the waters off the coast of Honduras, triggering tsunami threats and advisories for nearby Caribbean shores, though there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The quake struck at 0820 IST late yesterday and its epicenter was located some 27 miles (44 kilometers) east of Great Swan Island, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). It was provisionally considered to be shallow. Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez said authorities had activated the country's emergency system, but urged people to "please remain calm." "Based on the preliminary earthquake parameters, hazardous tsunami waves are possible for coasts located within 1,000 kilometers of the earthquake epicenter," the US National Weather Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said. Tsunami advisories, which are a level below "warnings" were issued for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Cuba, Mexico, Honduras, Belize and Jamaica meanwhile were ..
China says no major oil spill after Iran tanker collision
Chinese authorities battling to prevent an environmental disaster after a collision between an Iranian tanker and a cargo ship said today no major oil spill has been detected, but 31 sailors remained missing. Cleanup and rescue ships have faced toxic fumes, rain and windy conditions as they scrambled to find survivors and avoid a massive oil slick since Saturday's incident. The Sanchi, carrying 136,000 tonnes of light crude oil, has been in flames since colliding with the CF Crystal, a Hong Kong-registered bulk freighter, 160 nautical miles east of Shanghai. Experts had warned that a spill of the Panamanian-flagged 274-metre (899-foot) tanker's cargo could spell environmental catastrophe as authorities said the ship could explode or sink. But China's transport ministry said in a statement that as of 6:00 pm yesterday, "no large-scale oil spills were found on the sea surface" where the search is being conducted around the stricken vessel, which continued to burn. The oil .
Major quake hits Honduras, Cuba; triggers tsunami warning
A 7.8-magnitude earthquake has hit the area between Honduras and Cuba triggering a tsunami warning, the US Geological Survey said.
Massive 7.8 quake jolts Caribbean Islands
A massive earthquake, measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, has struck the Caribbean islands.According to United States Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake occurred west of Jamaica at a depth of 10 km at about 7 on Tuesday evening (5:30am IST on Wednesday).A tsunami advisory was in effect for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, according to a statement released by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.The USGS also warned that hazardous tsunami waves were 'possible' for coasts located within 1,000 km of the earthquake epicentre.This includes the Caribbean islands and Central America and parts of Mexico and the United States.No loss of lives and properties have been reported so far.
13 dead in US rains, mudslide
At least 13 persons are dead amid "waist-deep" mudslides in US' southern California, where heavy rains triggered flooding, an official said.
California mudslides demolish homes, killing at least 13
Mudslides unleashed by a ferocious storm demolished homes in southern California and killed at least 13 people, police said today. Authorities said the bodies were discovered in mud and debris during rescue operations in Montecito, northwest of Los Angeles. "We are saddened to report that this incident so far has resulted in 13 confirmed fatalities, as result of the storm that came through our area last night," Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown told a news conference, warning that he expected the death toll to increase. The Santa Barbara County Fire Department said on its Twitter feed it was using dogs to look for victims where multiple homes once stood in Montecito following heavy rain, with more than 20 people reported missing. The department posted pictures of rivers of waist-high mud flowing through neighborhoods and roads rendered impassable by fallen trees. "Firefighters successfully rescued a 14-yr-old girl after she was trapped for hours inside a destroyed .
Three killed in UP road accident due to fog
Three persons were killed and two injured after the car they were travelling in rammed into a truck on Agra-Lucknow Expressway on Tuesday.The accident happened on the expressway near Behta village when a car coming from Mathura hit a parked truck from the back.The driver had parked his truck on the side of the expressway, but the car driver could not see the truck due to heavy fog blanketing the expressway.Mathura residents Shyam (28) and his friend Sonu (29) died on the spot.Two others injured were referred to Tirwa Medical College.Later, one youth was shifted to Kanpur where he died in the course of treatment.
Bihar: Four coaches of train gutted in fire
Four coaches of the Patna-Mokama MEMU (Mainline Electric Multiple Unit) passenger train were gutted in a mid-night fire on Wednesday, said Rajesh Kumar, East Central Railway spokesperson.The coaches caught fire when the train was stationed in the yard."Patna-Mokama MEMU Passenger train reached Mokama on Tuesday night at 11 pm in Patna. It was stationed in the railway yard of Mokama Station. Suddenly, flames were spotted in two bogies at 1 am on Wednesday. An attempt was made to extinguish the fire, but it engulfed two more coaches," the CPRO said.Kumar said the fire has been brought under control and no one was injured.The fire has, however, not affected the railway operations.
6 killed, several stranded in California mudslide
The six people were found dead in Santa Barbara County and 50 people had been rescued from the area."Six homes near the coastal community of Montecito were wiped away from their foundations by mudflow and debris," CNN quoted Santa Barbara County fire spokesman Mike Eliason as saying.The deaths were reported in the Montecito and Carpinteria areas northwest of Los Angeles, which were severely hit by flooding and a debris flow, Amber Anderson with the Santa Barbara Office of Emergency Services confirmed to Fox News.About three to four airships have been sent for rescue operations, the Coast Guard said, adding that it will withdraw the mission if it finds any drone in the area.Many people stranded in Montecito have been rescued throughout the day.Montecito is home to many Hollywood celebrities, including Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres."I've loved being part of the Montecito community," DeGeneres wrote on Twitter. "I send love to all the families and the amazing rescue workers braving .
IndiGo flight returns to Mumbai airport after engine failure
An Indigo flight on Tuesday night returned back to the Mumbai airport due to an engine failure just after the take-off.Bengaluru bound 6E565 took off at 11:30 p.m. from the Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Airport's domestic terminal with 183 passengers on board.However, the pilots found that an engine of the aircraft was not functioning and they immediately returned the flight to the airport and landed the aircraft safely.A full emergency was declared and within 10 minutes the technical snag was corrected.The emergency was called off at 12:06 a.m. on Wednesday and the aircraft again took off for Bengaluru.
5.1 earthquake jolts Ecuador coast
An earthquake of magnitude 5.1 jolted the coast of Ecuador on Tuesday.According to the United States Geological Survey, the quake struck at 5:35 am (local time) on Tuesday morning and the epicentre of the quake was 271 km north of Puerto Ayora town in the Pacific Ocean.Tremors were also felt in the Ecuadorian capital, Quito. However, no loss of life or property was reported.Earthquakes are common in the South American country.In 2016, a massive earthquake of magnitude 7.8 had struck Ecuador, causing widespread damage to lives and properties. The massive quake killed 676 people and injured more than 15,000.
Ker CM's helicopter ride:LDF government cancels order
The CPI (M)-led LDF government in Kerala was today left red-faced after it cancelled an order for payment of an helicopter journey conducted by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, from the State Disaster Relief Fund, with the issue triggering a row. A statement issued by the chief minister's office (CMO) said the order for the payment has been cancelled as per the chief minister's directive. The helicopter was hired for Vijayan's "to and fro journey" from Thrissur to Thiruvananthapuram on December 26. As per the order, the cost of the journey was Rs.8 lakh. With the opposition Congress slamming the government for allegedly misusing the fund meant for Ockhi Cyclone relief work, the CMO issued a statement later in the day stating that the order for the payment from the state disaster relief fund was cancelled. The statement said the order for the payment was issued without the knowledge of the chief minister or the CMO. It also clarified that the helicopter was hired for ...
Fire at chemical factory near Vadodara
Fire broke out at a chemical factory near Manjusar industrial area on the outskirts of Vadodara today, a civic official said. Deepa Gunjal, Chief Fire Brigade Officer the Vadodara Municipal Corporation, said the fire was doused after three and a half hours. While the damage caused by the fire was yet to be assessed, nobody was injured, the official said. Cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained, Gunjal said.
7 injured in Ukraine road accident
Seven people, including three children, were injured in a road accident, in western Ukraine's Lviv Oblast on Tuesday.According to local authorities, as reported by Xinhua, the accident occurred at 1 pm (local time), when two cars coming from opposite directions, collided with each other in a regional highway, near Sambir town in Lviv Oblast.The seven of them- four adults including the drivers of both the cars, as well as three children aged five, nine and 10 years, were taken to the nearest hospital.An investigation is underway, into what caused the accident.
No big oil spill found after tanker-ship collusion: China
China today refuted the reports of an impending catastrophe of Iranian tanker which caught fire after colliding with a Chinese cargo ship off the east China coast, saying no large-scale oil spill was found in waters. It is a race against time for authorities as 31 people of the 274-metre tanker Sanchi are still missing amid concerns that the tanker may explode. It is on fire for three days. Authorities and environment experts have been fearful of a major environmental disaster in the East China Sea, claiming that the tanker continues to leak oil after colliding with the cargo ship. China's Transport Ministry said that no largescale oil spill was found, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency. A Panama-registered oil tanker, carrying 136,000 tonnes of condensate oil, caught fire on Saturday after it collided with a Hong Kong-registered bulk freighter. Zhao Ruxiang, an expert with China's Yantai Oil Spill Response Technical Centre, said a simulation test showed ...
Boeing delivers 763 jets in 2017, topping Airbus as biggest planemaker
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Boeing Co said on Tuesday it delivered 763 jetliners in 2017, likely retaining the title of the world's biggest plane maker compared with European rival Airbus SE.
Three killed, three injured in road accident in HP
At least three people were today killed and as many injured when their vehicle rolled down into a deep gorge in Chopal area of the district, police said. The bodies of the deceased were recovered while the injured were admitted to the Indira Gandhi Medical college here, they said. The deceased were identified as Balbir (50), Manmohan (55) and Ankush (12). Their bodies were handed over to the families after postmortem, the police said. The injured were identified as Bali Ram (57), his wife Birma (46) and Meera (28), they said. The district administration has provided immediate relief of Rs 5,000 to the next of kin of the deceased and seriously injured people, the police said.
Akali sarpanches not cooperating in making state ODF: Pb min
Punjab Cabinet minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa today accused the Akali sarpanches of not cooperating in making the state open defecation free (ODF). Bajwa said that the World Bank, which provided financial assistance for toilets, had made the participation of village sarpanches mandatory in building toilets. "Akali Sarpanches are not cooperating in building toilets in the rural areas," Bajwa said while addressing media here. "About 70 per cent Akali Sarpanches in the Majha region are not assisting in building toilets. Sarpanches owing allegiance to the Akali Dal want construction of toilets in the house of beneficiary of their choice. Ideally, toilet needs to be built where they are required," he said. However, Bajwa stressed that the state government was committed to build toilet in each rural house in this year. "So far, 13 districts, 86 blocks and 10,238 villages have been declared ODF in the state," he said. The minister said that the state government will start ...
Death toll from Nigeria communal violence reaches 80
Eighty people have been killed in Nigeria's central state of Benue since December 31 following clashes between cattle herders and farmers, said an emergency official today. "80 is the number we can say for now, the attacks have not stopped," Benue State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) executive secretary Emmanuel Shior told AFP.
3.0 magnitude earthquake hits Himachal's Kangra
An earthquake measuring 3.0 on the Richter scale was recorded in the Kangra region of Himachal Pradesh, on Tuesday.No loss of life or damage to property has been reported.The tremors were recorded at 6.25 pm with its epicentre in the Kangra region.On October 27, another mild earthquake measuring 4.4 on the Richter scale was recorded in the Mandi region of Himachal Pradesh.