Page 25 - Floods

PM Modi took stock of Delhi's flood situation: Lt Governor V K Saxena

Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena on Thursday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi called him up over phone from France to enquire about the flood and waterlogging situation in the national capital. "Honourable Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji called from France to enquire about the waterlogging and flood situation in Delhi and the efforts being made to deal with it," Saxena said in a tweet in Hindi. The Lt Governor said the prime minister "directed that appropriate steps be taken in the interest of Delhi by taking all possible help from the central government". Roads turned into rivers and water gushed into houses, medical facilities, crematoriums and shelter homes in Delhi as the Yamuna river water level rose to record high, causing immense hardship for the people.

MCD schools to be closed till Jul 16 as Delhi faces flood-like situation

All Municipal Corporation of Delhi-run schools will be closed till July 16 in view of the flood-like situation in the national capital, the civic body said on Thursday. This comes in accordance with the directions issued by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority, officials said. All schools aided, recognised and run by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will remain closed till July 16, a senior official said. The civic body also issued an order on the closure on Thursday. The MCD on Wednesday said 10 schools in low-lying areas of its Civil Lines zone and seven in the Shahadra area would be closed on July 13 due to the flood-like situation. Earlier in the day, Directorate of Education officials said all government and private schools in Delhi will remain closed till July 16 in view of the rising water level in the Yamuna. Roads turned into rivers and water gushed into houses, medical facilities, crematoriums and shelter homes, impairing normal life and causing immense hards

Delhi floods: Shanties inundated, evacuated people stare at bleak future

In March, her home was demolished in an anti-encroachment drive and now, her shanty on the bank of a swollen Yamuna is underwater. "Everything is lost again," says Beena Devi, who has been moved to a relief camp along with her family from a slum in the Rajghat area here. Some utensils, essentials and quilts was all the 57-year-old, her husband, three children and daughter-in-law could carry out of their house as authorities raced to evacuate them and hundreds of families on Tuesday as the water levels in the river rapidly started rising, above the danger mark. Delhi recorded a rapid increase in the Yamuna's water level over the past four days. It shot up from 203.14 metres at 11 am on Sunday to 205.4 at 5 pm on Monday, breaching the danger mark of 205.33 metres 18 hours earlier than expected. The river exceeded the evacuation mark of 206 metres on Monday night, prompting the relocation of people residing in flood-prone areas to safer locations. The water level breached the previous

75% districts exposed to floods, 25% have early warning systems: Report

An estimated 72 per cent of districts in India are exposed to extreme flood events but only 25 per cent of them have level flood forecasting stations, or early warning systems, a new report said on Thursday. Despite high exposure to floods, Assam, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, and Sikkim are the best performing states in terms of flood early warning systems (EWS), according to the report by independent policy research think tank The Council on Energy Environment and Water. The report showed that Himachal Pradesh, currently battling massive floods, is among the states with the lowest availability of EWS. Uttarakhand, on the other hand, is moderately exposed to extreme flood events but has a high availability of flood EWS, it said. Delhi, in the throes of severe flooding due to a raging Yamuna, is moderately exposed to extreme floods and has a moderate level of resilience through EWS, Approximately 66 per cent of individuals in India are exposed to extreme flood events; however, onl

Traffic advisory issued as Yamuna water rises to a record level in Delhi

Delhi Traffic Police issued an advisory as the water level in Yamuna River crosses the danger mark. Non-destined commercial vehicles' routes have been diverted

Yamuna flows at a record level; water spills out on some roads in Delhi

The water level at the Old Railway Bridge crossed the 45-year-high 208-metre mark on Wednesday night and rose to 208.48 metres by 8 am on Thursday

Life upended for Delhi's ghat-dwellers as Yamuna breaches 45-year record

Days spent swimming to their homes to salvage their belongings; nights spent cramped in makeshift camps

Heavy rains batter North; Army, NDRF step in, yamuna breaches danger mark

PM assures help to CMs of HP and Uttarakhand as landslides claim four lives in Shimla

PM Modi assures full support to Himachal govt battling flood crisis

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday called Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and assured "unwavering support" to his government as heavy rainfall caused widespread damage across the state. The prime minister inquired about the extent of the damage caused to life and property due to heavy rains and floods, an official statement issued here said.

39 NDRF teams deployed in four states to tackle heavy rains, floods

A total of 39 NDRF teams have been deployed in four north Indian states to tackle the heavy rains and floods that have been battering these regions since Saturday, a senior officer said on Monday. While 14 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams are working in Punjab, a dozen are deployed in Himachal Pradesh, eight in Uttarakhand and five in Haryana, he said. "The rescue operations are being undertaken as per the situation on ground and in coordination with the state authorities," an NDRF spokesperson said. The teams, with about 30-35 rescuers in each, are equipped with inflatable boats, ropes, tree cutters and other essential tools to launch rescue and relief operations, another officer said. Torrential rains continued to wreak havoc in north India on Monday even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with senior ministers and officials to take stock of the situation.

Heavy rains cause floods in southwest Japan, at least 6 people missing

Torrential rain has been pounding southwestern Japan, triggering floods and mudslides and leaving at least six people missing Monday. Rains falling on the regions of Kyushu and Chugoku since the weekend caused flooding along a number of rivers as well as mudslides, closing roads, disrupting trains and cutting the water supply in some areas. The Japan Meteorological Agency issued an emergency heavy rain warning for Fukuoka and Oita prefectures on the southern main island of Kyushu, urging residents in riverside and hillside areas to take maximum caution. More than 1.7 million residents in vulnerable areas were urged to take shelter. The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said at least six people were missing. In the town of Soeda in Fukuoka prefecture, two people were buried underneath a mudslide. One was rescued alive, but the other was found without vital signs, the agency said. Further information on their condition wasn't immediately available. In the city of Karatsu in Saga .

Over 100 stranded after Dhauli river washes away trolley in Uttarakhand

More than 100 people living in Chal village in Darma Valley of this Uttarakhand district were stranded and cut off from nearby areas after a trolley was washed away in the swollen Dhauli river due to heavy rains. Pithoragarh District Magistrate Reena Joshi said the trolley connecting the village to the outside world was washed away in the heavy rain late on Thursday evening. "The connection to the village has been cut off due to the trolley being washed away in the spate of the Dhauli river. But there has been no loss of life or property," he said. A trolley was established on the Dhauli river for commuting to Chal village located at the other end of the Darma valley. Dinesh Chalal, a resident of Chal village, said earlier there was an iron bridge for traffic here, which was washed away in the 2013 natural disaster, adding that the administration had installed a trolley to cross the river after that. According to villagers, more than 25 people of the village are about to return af

15 killed by floods in China as seasonal torrents hit mountain areas

At least 15 people have been killed by floods in southwestern China as seasonal torrents hit mountain areas, authorities said on Wednesday. Another four people were reported missing by mid-morning in Chongqing, a vast mountainous region of 31 million, almost all of which has now been designated as having flood risk, according to the local government website. The Chongqing floods appear to be China's deadliest amid deluges in other parts of the country. Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated. In just one southwestern province, Sichuan, more than 85,000 people have been evacuated due to flooding, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Chongqing's flood warning has been upgraded from level four to level three, reflecting the growing seriousness of the crisis. Rescue teams in inflatable boats were ferrying villagers to safety and workers were clearing roads blocked by landslides, according to photos posted on the government website. Seasonal flooding hits large parts of C

Flooding displaces 10,000 in China as Beijing amid major heatvave

Heavy flooding has displaced thousands of people around China as the capital had a brief respite from sweltering heat. Beijing reported 9.8 straight days when the temperature exceeded 35 C (95 F), the National Climate Center said Monday. Such a streak was last recorded in 1961 decades before most Beijing residents had air conditioning or even fans. A lack of rainfall may be contributing to the heat, with the notoriously dry capital receiving even less than usual this year. While temperatures have since moderated Monday's temperature at midday was 33 C (91 F) they are expected to rise again this week to as high as 39.6 Celsius (103 Fahrenheit) in Beijing and other parts of the country, authorities said. Meanwhile, more than 10,000 people were urgently moved to safety due to flooding in the central province of Hunan, the Xiang'xi Emergency Management Bureau on Sunday. Around 70 houses collapsed, 2,283 were damaged and farm fields were flooded. Losses so far have been estimated at

Heavy rains cause flood-like situation in many areas across Gujarat

Heavy rains in several parts of Gujarat created a flood-like situation and led to many villages getting cut off, officials said on Sunday. Some parts of Valsad and Navsari districts received extremely heavy rainfall in a 24-hour period till Sunday morning, data from the State Emergency Operation Centre revealed. Several villages were cut off as roads were flooded or had been washed away, with the National and State Disaster Response Forces (NDRF and SDRF) engaged in operations to rescue stranded people, officials said. Jamnagar is one of the worst-affect districts with police saying 11 people have died in rain-related incidents since Friday. A three-year-old girl died after falling into a well while scooping water out of her flooded house there on Friday, while bodies of two men who had gone missing after heavy rainfall were found on Saturday by a rescue team, police added. Villages in Limbdi taluka of Surendranagar district were cut off due to the flooding of approach roads, with

Assam flood situation improves; number of affected dips to under 20,000

The flood situation in Assam improved with the number of affected dipping further to less than 20,000, an official bulletin said on Friday. The number of affected was around 38,000 on Thursday and 83,000 on Wednesday. The Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), in a bulletin on Friday, said 19,656 people were still affected by the deluge. Parts of Barpeta, Goalpara, Golaghat, Jorhat, Kamrup and Lakhimpur districts, and Bajali sub-division (independent) were inundated. The death toll in the floods this year remained at seven as no fresh fatality was reported. Altogether 25 embankments have been damaged in Nalbari, Barpeta, Dhubri, Karimganj and Sonitpur districts in the last 24 hours. Bridges, roads, culverts and irrigation canals were also damaged in several districts including Nalbari, Chirang, Sonitpur, Dhubri and Goalpara. Erosion has been reported from Chirang, Jorhat and Sonitpur, the ASDMA report added.

Flood control

Coherent policy needed to address recurring floods

20 dead as heavy rains & lightning hit Pakistan's Punjab province

At least 20 people, including women and children, were killed and over 50 injured in lightning and rain-related incidents in the Punjab province of Pakistan on Monday, officials said. Heavy pre-monsoon rain spells battered most parts of Punjab on Sunday and Monday and are expected to continue till June 30. "Lightning killed eight people while 12 others were either buried alive or electrocuted in related incidents in different parts of Punjab province," Rescue 1122 spokesperson Farooq Ahmad told PTI on Monday. He said lightning struck Narowal, Sheikhupura and Nankana Sahib cities, killing eight people, including children, while 10 suffered injuries and are being treated at local hospitals. Ahmad said that five people of a family were buried alive when the roof of their house caved in due to heavy rain in Narowal. A policeman was among eight people electrocuted in Lahore, Shiekhupura, Pasrur, Sialkot and Kamoke in rain-related incidents, he added. Heavy rains and hail storms also c

Several commuters stranded as floods block highway in Himachal Pradesh

Hundreds of commuters were stranded in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi district as the Chandigarh-Manali national highway was blocked following flash floods and landslides, officials said on Monday. The 70-km Mandi-Pandoh-Kullu stretch has been badly affected, they said. A total of 301 roads are closed in the state following heavy rains, while 140 power transformers are disrupted. Flash floods were witnessed in Khotinallah near Aut, about 40 km from Mandi town, on the Pandoh-Kullu stretch due to a heavy downpour and the commuters have been stranded since Sunday evening. The alternative Mandi-Kullu route via Katola, blocked due to landslide, has been opened after almost 20 hours and small vehicles are now being diverted through this stretch, said the officials of the Mandi administration. The Mandi-Pandoh stretch was blocked near 6 Miles after a landslide. The officials said restoration work is underway and explosives are being used to blast heavy boulders blocking roads on this stretch.

India's vulnerability to flash floods and how to prepare for them

As unpredictable weather patterns continue, the Indian Meteorological Department has been issuing weather warnings, including flash floods in the northern regions of the country