Page 20 - Floods

Himachal govt helped disaster-affected people by changing rules: CM Sukhu

According to the officials, in rain-related incidents in this year's monsoon so far, 400 people have lost their lives and over 13,000 houses have been damaged

Except for extreme northern parts, all other destinations open: Sikkim govt

The Sikkim government has said that all popular destinations in the Himalayan state are open for tourists, except for extreme parts of North Sikkim. Sikkim government's Tourism and Civil Aviation Department, Additional Secretary, Bandana Chettri said that all the regions of the state under different districts, namely Gangtok, Namchi, Soreng, Pakyong and Gyalshing are safe to visit and the weather conditions in these areas are very soothing in this festive season. "Except for the extreme Northern part of Sikkim which is not accessible, all other destinations of the state are open for tourists and there is no untoward situation as the impact of flood in Teesta has since normalised," said an advisory on Monday. She urged tourists to visit the Himalayan state, which is known for its pristine natural beauty. The Himalayan state was hit by a flash flood in the Teesta river, triggered by a cloudburst in the early hours of October 4 in which 40 people were killed. Over a million tourists

Floods caused by torrential rainfall kill at least 31 people in Somalia

Floods caused by torrential rainfall have killed at least 31 people in various parts of Somalia, authorities have said. Since October, floods have displaced nearly half a million people and disrupted the lives of over 1.2 million people, Minister of Information Daud Aweis told reporters in the capital Mogadishu on Sunday. They have also caused extensive damage to civilian infrastructure notably in the Gedo region of southern Somalia, he said. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, which has given USD 25 million to help mitigate the impact of flooding, warned in a statement Thursday of a flood event of a magnitude statistically likely only once in 100 years, with significant anticipated humanitarian impacts. While all possible preparatory measures are being pursued, a flood of this magnitude can only be mitigated and not prevented, OCHA said, recommending early warning and early action" to save lives as "large-scale displacement, increased humanitarian

China's spy agency vows crackdown on weather stations with foreign links

Foreign embassies and research groups gather weather data in China, activity that becomes more important as the nation deals with bouts of extreme weather such as flooding in the Beijing area

Sikkim floods: Army, BRO continue efforts to reconnect North Sikkim

Areas of North Sikkim ahead of Mangan have remained cut off since October 4. As an immediate response, foot bridges and zip lines were constructed at Chungthang and Sanklang-Mangan Crossing

Sikkim CM visits flood-ravaged Chungthang, takes stock of relief effort

The Chief Minister assessed the extent of destruction caused by the washing away of the Teesta Stage III dam and the flood at the Teesta basin, said officials

Hundreds in Scotland told to evacuate as northern Europe braces for floods

Hundreds of people were being evacuated from their homes and schools closed in parts of Scotland on Thursday, as much of northern Europe braced for stormy weather, heavy rain and gale-force winds from the east. The UK's weather forecaster, the Met Office, issued a rare red alert the highest level of weather warning for parts of Scotland, predicting exceptional rainfall Thursday and Friday that is expected to cause extensive flooding and danger to life from fast-flowing or deep floodwater. The last red alert in the UK was issued in 2020. Forecasters say the storm, named Babet by UK officials, could bring more than a month's worth of rain in the worst-affected regions in Scotland. Babet already brought floods and swollen rivers that swamped several towns and villages in Ireland, with some areas remaining under water and without power Thursday. Soldiers helped with evacuation measures in the town of Midleton in County Cork, where more than 100 properties were flooded. Cork County ..

Central team leaves for Delhi after assessing situation in flood hit Sikkim

The Inter-Ministerial Central Team led by Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, Anant Kishore Saran on Wednesday left for the national capital after completing the assessment of the extent of damage caused by flash floods in Sikkim, an official said. The central team members were seen off at the airport by the Relief Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Land Revenue and Disaster Management Department, Anil Raj Rai, and senior officers of the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority (SSDMA). During their three-day visit, the central team was briefed by Chief Secretary V B Pathak about large-scale damage to road infrastructure, telecommunication network, displacement of people and fatalities due to flash floods in Teesta river basin areas in four districts following a cloudburst on Lhonak lake in North Sikkim on October 4. The Central team had visited the disaster-affected areas in East and North Sikkim for a first-hand information of the extent of damage inflicted by flash floods. On

Central team visits North Sikkim to assess damage caused by flash floods

The Inter-Ministerial Central Team led by Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, Anant Kishore Saran on Tuesday left for North Sikkim by helicopter to assess the damage caused by the flash floods in the area, an official said. The central team members - Director, Ministry of Power, RK Meena, executive engineer Ministry of Jal Shakti Sashwat Rai and director SSDMA, Prabhakar Rai - flew by helicopter from Burtuk airport for North Sikkim, he said. Mangan district in north Sikkim is the worst flood-affected district with over 30,000 people affected by the flash flood. Members of the central team on Monday visited the affected areas in Gangtok, Pakyong district. Among the areas they visited were IBM, Rangpo, ATTC-Bardang, Golitar, Singtam, Dikchu and Phidang where they assessed the damage caused to buildings, power lines, roads and bridges. The central team visited a relief camp on Monday in Majigaon and made certain recommendations for the maintenance of proper sanitation at rescue

Heavy flooding in southern Myanmar displaces over 14,000 people

Flooding triggered by heavy monsoon rains in Myanmar's southern areas has displaced more than 14,000 people and disrupted traffic on the rail lines that connect the country's biggest cities, officials and state-run media said Monday. State television MRTV reported Monday evening that the number of displaced people in Bago township, about 68 km (42 miles) northeast of Yangon, the country's biggest city, had climbed to that figure, and they were taking shelter in 36 relief camps. It said almost 1,000 more people in Mon state's township, just east of Bago, were sheltering in three relief camps, and there some evacuations in a northern part of Yangon. A senior official at the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement, Lay Shwe Zin Oo, said that constant rainfall in the Bago region that began last week caused the flooding in the low-lying areas of its capital, Bago township. She said there were no casualties reported so far. Bago township recorded 7.87 inches (200 millimetres)

Sikkim flood death toll rises to 27, search ops continue for 141 missing

Search operations continued on Saturday for the 142 people who are still missing after the flash flood in the Teesta river that devastated Sikkim, officials said. Twenty-six people including seven Armymen were killed in the flash flood, which was triggered by a cloudburst in the early hours of Wednesday and affected over 25,000 people, damaged more than 1,200 houses and washed away 13 bridges, bringing the picturesque Himalayan state to its knees, they said. So far, 2,413 people have been rescued from different areas and 6,875 people are taking shelter in 22 relief camps set up across the state, most of which has been cut off from the rest of the country. Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang announced an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh for the families of the deceased and an immediate relief of Rs 2,000 each for all those taking shelter in the camps. "There have been damage worth thousands of crores of rupees. We cannot give exact details about the damage. It will be revealed once a ...

Sikkim flash flood: Toll rises to 25, searches on for 143 missing people

The toll in the flash flood in Sikkim mounted to 21 on Friday as Army and NDRF teams worked their way through slushy earth and fast flowing water in the Teesta river basin and downstream north Bengal for the third day in search of those who were swept away and are still missing, officials said. Of the 23 army personnel who were missing from Burdang area, the bodies of seven have been recovered from different areas downstream while one was rescued and the search is on for 15 missing jawans, Chief Minister P S Tamang said. A total of 118 people, including the 15 jawans, remained missing after a cloudburst over Lhonak Lake in North Sikkim in the early hours of Wednesday triggered the flash flood. So far, 2,411 people have been evacuated and accommodated at relief camps, while the calamity has affected over 22,000 people, the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority (SSDMA) said in its latest bulletin. The flash flood in the Teesta River, triggered by the cloudburst in Lhonak Lake, .

Heavy rains, floods kill 6 people in Sri Lanka and force schools to close

Heavy rain triggered floods and mudslides and downed trees in many parts of Sri Lanka, killing at least six people and forcing authorities to close schools in some areas, officials said Friday. Strong monsoon rains have been pounding the Indian Ocean nation for more than a week, flooding houses, fields and roads. On Friday, a large tree fell on a moving bus in Colombo, killing five people and injuring five others, said Dr. Rukshan Bellana, a spokesperson for the capital's main hospital. Separately, one person died when a rock fell on his house during a mudslide in Galle district, about 130 kilometres south of Colombo, the state-run Disaster Management Centre said. The centre said the floods and mudslides damaged hundreds of houses in 12 districts and affected more than 50,000 people, including 1,473 families who were moved to temporary shelters. The coastal district of Matara was the worst affected, with most parts flooded for more than a week. Schools in Matara were closed on Fri

6 wks following flooding event critical for public health monitoring: Study

Floods heighten risk of dying in the three to six weeks window following the event, new research in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) says. The risk of deaths in general increased by 2.1 per cent, whereas that in people having heart and lung illnesses increased by 2.6 and 4.9 per cent, respectively, a team of researchers led by those at Australia's Monash University found. This increased risk peaks for around 25 days, but persists for up to 50-60 days after the first day of flooding, they said in their study, having studied deaths in 761 communities from 35 countries that experienced at least one flooding event from 2000 to 2019. In the aftermath of a flood, risk of deaths from natural causes could get enhanced due to contamination of food and water, exposure to disease-causing fungi, bacteria or virus, impaired access to health services, and psychological impairment. These flood-and-death associations varied with local climate type and were stronger in populations with low ...

Bengal flood situation: 10,000 people rescued; guv to visit affected areas

Expressing concern over the flood-like situation in the state, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said that 10,000 people have been rescued and kept in 190 relief camps in nine districts in the southern and northern parts of the state. Banerjee, who is recuperating from a leg injury, said she is personally monitoring the situation round the clock from home and announced that leaves of a number of state government officials were cancelled as a part of the measure to contain the flood situation in the state. West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose is scheduled to visit the flood-affected districts in the northern part of the state on Thursday. The northern part of West Bengal shares border with Sikkim which witnessed a flash flood in the Teesta river leaving at least 10 people dead, scores injured and around 80 others missing. Taking stock of the situation at a meeting, Banerjee asked Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi and Home Secretary BP Gopalika to immediately send a tea

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People moving to high flood zones, increasing risk of disasters: Study

Far more people are in harm's way as they move into high flood zones across the globe, adding to an increase in watery disasters from climate change, a new study said. Since 1985, the number of the world's settlements in the riskiest flood zones has increased 122 per cent, compared to 80 per cent for the safest areas, according to a study in Wednesday's journal Nature by researchers at The World Bank. The authors looked at settlement extent and expansion using satellites instead of population, with the world's built-up regions growing 85 per cent overall from 1985 to 2015. People are on a search for better lives and better jobs and then sort of get stuck in bad lands because that's what they can afford, said study co-author Stephane Hallegatte, a World Bank senior climate adviser and expert on disaster economics. He said they know it's dangerous when they arrive. The problem is driven by middle- and low-income countries, the study found. Richer countries like the United States and

Sikkim flash flood: 3 NDRF teams deployed, 23 army personnel missing

Several army vehicles were swept away and some Army establishments were also damaged due to the flood

Flooding in Libya shows how disasters are man-made and not Acts of God

A rapid attribution study found that climate change played a role in the events

Cloud-to-ground flashes increase by 53% from 2019 to 2023, shows data

MP, UP, Bihar make up over 60% of lightning-related fatalities