Page 18 - Floods

Kerala landslides: Rescue continues on 5th day, over 1,300 rescuers at work

Search operations started early Saturday with more than 1,300 rescuers, heavy machinery and sophisticated equipment being deployed to look for survivors from the ravages of the landslides that have killed more than 200 people. Private companies specialising in the field of search and rescue, and volunteers have also joined the operations led by the army, police and emergency service units. However, huge boulders and logs brought by landslides and deposited in the residential areas of Mundakkai and Chooralmala are posing a significant challenge to rescue efforts to locate people believed to be trapped beneath the rubble. As many as 210 people have died and 273 were injured in the massive landslides that hit Wayanad district in the wee hours of July 30. Around 300 people are suspected to be missing and rescue operators are battling adverse conditions, including waterlogged soil, as they search through destroyed homes and buildings. The district administration had on Friday divided t

'Mercifully you didn't fine rainwater': HC to cops on SUV driver's arrest

Rau's IAS coaching centre deaths: Delhi HC on Friday transferred the case to the CBI to probe the deaths of the three IAS aspirants in the basement flooding incident at a coaching centre last week

BJP wants power, but no responsibilities, says AAP on east Delhi drownings

The AAP on Friday slammed the BJP over its "silence" on the deaths of a woman and her three-year-old due to falling into a waterlogged drain in east Delhi, saying the party wants all the power but not for the sake of people. The party also demanded financial support for the family and action against erring officials. Addressing a press conference, the Aam Aadmi Party's Delhi convener Gopal Rai accused the BJP of having "double standards." "Initially when the incident happened, BJP spokesperson went to the spot and claimed that it was a PWD drain. But ever since it became clear that the drain belongs to DDA, they have maintained silence. Lt Governor is the chairman of DDA. "Why is BJP silent now? They have double standards," he charged. The Delhi Development Authority has stated that a major portion of the drain, where the tragedy struck, had been handed over to the MCD, while the portion under it is covered with RCC slabs. Tanuja and her three-year-old son Priyansh slipped and f

Wayanad landslide forecast bulletins experimental: GSI after disaster

Amid reports that its warning system "failed" in landslide-hit Wayanad in Kerala, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) on Friday said its regional forecast bulletins for the district were experimental and issued once a day for ground testing. This process was a "part of building a prediction model", which will take 4-5 years to be ready for public use, a GSI official said. "GSI has started issuing regional landslide forecast bulletins on an experimental mode once a day for Wayanad district, Kerala. These are issued only to the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) and District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) for ground testing since the onset of the 2024 monsoon. It is restricted only to SDMA and DDMA for receiving feedback," a GSI spokesperson told PTI. These forecasts are based on rainfall predictions provided by the National Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF) and the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to prepare landslide thresholds, he said. Massi

Uttarakhand rains: 14 dead due to heavy rains, Kedarnath Yatra suspended

Uttarakhand floods: The Centre has deployed two Indian Air Force helicopters - a Chinook and an MI 17 - to assist with rescue operation in the state

Heavy rains lash Delhi: Flights diverted, schools shut, city on high alert

The heavy rainfall brought the national capital to a standstill, causing severe traffic jams and leaving people stranded as roads turned into rivers

Delhi coaching centre deaths: HC pulls up officials, slams freebies culture

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday pulled up authorities over the deaths of three UPSC aspirants who drowned in the basement of a coaching centre, saying such tragedies are bound to happen when there is no collection of taxes due to a "freebies culture". The high court hinted at asking a central agency to probe the incident and directed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) commissioner, deputy commissioner of police concerned and the investigating officer of the case to appear before it on Friday. A bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela said a "strange probe" was going on with Delhi Police taking action against a man who drove a car outside the coaching centre in Old Rajinder Nagar here but not acting against MCD officials. "Have they lost it? What is Delhi Police doing? What are its officials doing? This is a cover up or what? Has some official been held accountable for the incident till now? We are telling you, once the responsibility is fixed on

Recent rains in North Korea flood thousands of houses, vast farmland

The recent heavy rains in northwestern North Korea flooded thousands of houses and a vast extent of farmland and left many residents homeless and living in makeshift tents, North Korea's state media reported Wednesday. North Korea earlier said more than 5,000 people stranded in Sinuiju city and Uiju town were rescued by airlift and other evacuation work after Saturday's rains caused a river on the Chinese border to swell. But it hadn't mentioned any specific damage, or said if there were any casualties. North Korea is prone to flooding from heavy summer rains because of poor drainage, deforestation and dilapidated infrastructure. The official Korean Central News Agency said Wednesday that about 4,100 houses, 3,000 hectares (about 7,410 acres) of agricultural fields and numerous public buildings, roads and railways in Sinuiju and Uiju were flooded. It said about 150 people in nearby Jagang province had also been isolated due to a separate river flooding there, but they were all ...

EU to give Euro 2.4 mn aid for flood victims in India, B'desh, Philippines

The funding will help provide cash assistance, food, access to clean water and sanitation, and other essential services in the hardest-hit areas

RAU's IAS coaching deaths: HC to hear plea seeking high-level panel probe

RAU's IAS coaching centre's basement flooded on Saturday after an SUV drove through the flooded road outside, causing a ripple effect in the water, resulting in the institute's gates to collapse

Footbridge washed away in flash flood triggered by cloudburst in Kullu

A footbridge and three makeshift sheds, including a liquor shop, were washed away following a flash flood triggered by a cloudburst in Tosh Nallah in Himachal Pradesh's Kullu district, officials said on Tuesday. The incident took place in the Tosh area of Manikaran early in the morning and no loss of life was reported, Deputy Commissioner Kullu Torul S Raveesh said, adding that a team has been sent to the spot to assess the situation. "Our appeal to the people is to stay away from rivers and rivulets and do not make temporary structures near nallahs," she said. The deputy commissioner said that construction activity is prohibited during the monsoon and strict action would be taken against anyone defying the norms. The local meteorological office has issued an 'orange' alert for heavy to very heavy rain accompanied with thunderstorms and lightning in seven districts of the state on Wednesday and Thursday. The Met has also sounded a 'yellow' alert for heavy rain at isolated places o

Coaching students died due to Delhi govt's 'carelessness': Khattar

Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal Khattar on Monday said the Delhi government's "carelessness" is responsible for the death of three students at a coaching institute in the national capital. Three civil services aspirants died after the basement of a building housing Rau's IAS Study Circle coaching institute was flooded following rain in central Delhi's Old Rajinder Nagar area on Saturday evening. I understand the agencies responsible for this carelessness is either the MCD or the Delhi government, the minister said. The minister was replying to a short discussion on the incident. He said that a similar incident happened in Mukherjee Nagar and the court had instructed the MCD to conduct a survey of institutes and make required provisions. Khattar said that 1,120 coaching institutes were issued notices in 2023 but no action was taken after the notices were issued. He said that timely action could have prevented such incidents. The minister further said that a

Coaching center deaths: MCD says encroachments over drains to be demolished

The civic body is working on three fronts, including demolishing encroachments over stormwater drains, following the deaths of three IAS aspirants at a coaching centre in Old Rajinder Nagar after its basement got flooded due to heavy rain, MCD Commissioner Ashwani Kumar said on Monday. Action has also been stepped up on illegal basements that are a threat to safety, the senior Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) official added. "We worked on three fronts. Encroachments covering stormwater drains, due to which its cleaning was not easy, are to be demolished. Action has been initiated against illegal basements which are a threat to and safety," he said. "Three basements were sealed last evening. We have taken action against the maintenance engineers responsible for containing waterlogging. The junior engineer has been terminated and the assistant engineer suspended," Kumar said. Three IAS aspirants died due to flooding of the Rau's IAS Study Circle building basement in the central .

MCD House adjourned after Oppn creates uproar over coaching centre deaths

Opposition councillors on Monday trooped into the well of the MCD House on Monday protesting the Rajinder Nagar coaching centre deaths and demanding resignation of the mayor and Delhi chief minister over the incident. The BJP and Congress councillors also raised slogans and carried posters against the AAP-led Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). Amid the ruckus, the mayor adjourned the House even before it could begin and left the House. After the adjournment, BJP councillors staged a protest on the fourth floor of the agency headquarters, demanding the mayor to resume the House. They also raised slogans against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and demanded an inquiry into the deaths. A heavy deployment of police force was seen at the Civic Centre at the agency headquarters. The uproar erupted over the deaths of three UPSC aspirants, two females and a male, who were killed after the basement of Rau's IAS Study Circle in central Delhi's Old Rajinder Nagar area was flooded following

Coaching centre deaths: Police to probe MCD officials on 'illegal' library

Delhi Police may question MCD officials about desilting of drains and the clearance certificate issued by them to the Rau's IAS Study Circle where three students died due to flooding of a basement being used as a brary, sources said on Monday. They said the police are going to write to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) over these issues, and if required in the course of the probe, may call the officers concerned for questioning. The MCD is responsible for the desilting of storm water drains. It has been alleged the drainage system near the coaching centre in the Old Rajinder Nagar area was not working properly due to which a large quantity of rainwater got accumulated at the road, and gushed into the basement. A Delhi Police official said they will also seek the details from the MCD about the cleaning of the drains and the number of inspections they carried out in the area. The police will also ask the MCD to furnish the occupancy certificate where the basement-owner alleged

Typhoon Gaemi: Taiwan sees flooding, landslides; kills 22 in Philippines

Taiwan has seen flooding in low-lying areas, along with landslides and damage to homes and shops after Typhoon Gaemi made landfall on the island. The storm swept up the western Pacific, leaving 22 people dead in the Philippines from flooding and landslides, and three in Taiwan, with more than 220 reported injured. Offices and schools in Taiwan were closed for the second consecutive day on Thursday and people were urged to stay home and away from the coastline. The island is regularly hit by typhoons and has boosted its warning systems, but its typography, high population density and high-tech economy make it difficult to avoid losses when such storms hit. The capital, Taipei, was unusually quiet, with light rain falling and occasionally gusting winds. In the Philippines, the death toll rose due to drownings and landslides. At least three people are missing, according to police. The Philippine coast guard reported that an oil tanker, MT Terra Nova, loaded with about 1.4 million li

Typhoon Gaemi approaches China after pounding Taiwan, Philippines

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the main chipmaker for Apple Inc. and Nvidia Corp., said it was taking routine precautions for its local fabrication facilities

Budget 2024: HP to get aid to overcome losses due to last year's floods

Himachal Pradesh, which suffered major losses due to floods last year, would be provided aid through multilateral development assistance, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said during her budget speech in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. Heavy rains triggered floods and landslides in the hill state last year and about 550 people died during the monsoon season. The Himachal Pradesh government has requested the Centre to release Rs 9,042 crore as financial assistance following a post-disaster assessment carried out by a central team. "Himachal Pradesh suffered extensive losses due to floods last year and our government would provide assistance to the state for reconstruction and rehabilitation through multilateral development assistance," Sitharaman said. The state received three spells of very heavy rains last year. It received 223.9 mm of rain from July 8 to July 12 against the normal of 42.2 mm, 111.2 mm from August 11 to August 14 against the normal of 41.7 mm, an excess of 167 per cen

Hurricanes, temblors grab headlines, inland areas in US most affected: Data

Floyd County keeps flooding and the federal government keeps coming to the rescue. In July 2022, at least 40 people died and 300 homes were damaged when the eastern Kentucky county flooded. It was the 13th time in 12 years that the rural county was declared a federal disaster. These are disasters so costly that local governments feel they can't pay for it all, so the governor asks the president to declare a disaster freeing up federal funds. After that flood I had 500 homeless people looking at me, Judge what are we going to do'? recalled Judge Robbie Williams, administrator for the county of a bit more than 35,000 people. It's overwhelming and it's just a matter of time before it happens again. It did. In 2023, Floyd County was declared a disaster again for 14th time, starting in 2011. And Floyd County isn't even the nation's most disaster-prone county. Neighboring Johnson County has 15 disasters declared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency since 2011. When it comes to ext

Search underway for dozens missing after flooding leaves 25 dead in China

Rescuers on Monday were searching for dozens missing after heavy rains caused flash flooding and a bridge collapse in different parts of China, killing at least 25 people. Flash flooding tore through a village in southwestern Sichuan province in the middle of the night Saturday, and rescuers said 10 people died and they were searching for another 29 missing. Days of heavy rain swelled the river that runs through the village of Xinhua in Hanyuan county. The water swept away 40 houses on the riverbank, according to local media, while also breaking bridges and cutting off roads. In northwestern Shaanxi province, vehicles fell into a rushing river when part of a highway bridge collapsed late Friday, and state broadcaster CCTV reported at least 15 deaths confirmed as of Monday. A photo released by China's Xinhua news agency showed a section of the bridge snapped and folded at almost a 90-degree angle into the rushing brown water below. Rescuers said Saturday some 20 cars and 30 people we