Page 23 - Heavy Rains

10 killed in lightning strikes in six districts of Odisha: Official

At least 10 people were killed in lightning strikes in six districts of Odisha, which witnessed heavy rainfall on Saturday, an official said. Lightning strikes claimed the lives of four people in Khurda district, two in Bolangir and one each in Angul, Boudh, Jagatsinghpur and Dhenkanal, the office of the special relief commissioner said. Three persons in Khurda were also injured in lightning strikes, it said. The coastal region of Odisha, including the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, witnessed heavy rain with lightning strikes, the official said. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast a similar situation in several parts of the state in the next four days. A cyclonic circulation has activated the monsoon which caused heavy rainfall across the state, the statement said.. The twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack recorded 126 mm and 95.8 mm of rainfall respectively during a 90-minute spell in the afternoon. The state recorded 36,597 CC (cloud to cloud) lightni

IMD predicts heavy rainfall in Puducherry from August 30 to September 1

An official press release from the IMD on August 30, said, "Heavy rainfall very likely over Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal from 30 August- 1 September

Torrential rainfall in Himachal wreaks havoc, 8 buildings collapse in Kullu

At least eight buildings that had developed cracks and were declared unsafe following recent rains collapsed in Anni area of Himachal Pradesh's Kullu district on Thursday, throwing up large clouds of dust and debris. There were no casualties. The buildings housing shops, banks and other commercial establishments had developed cracks four-five days ago, Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Anni, Naresh Verma, who was at the spot, said. The buildings were declared unsafe and vacated recently, he said. The assessment of damage is being done and some other unsafe buildings along the National Highway305 in Anni have also been vacated as a precautionary measure, the official added. As many as 120 people have died in rain-related incidents in the state this month while a total of 238 people have died and 40 are still missing since the onset of monsoon in Himachal Pradesh on June 24. Himachal saw three major spells of heavy rains this Monsoon. The first on July 9 and 10 led to large-scale ..

Massive landslide in Himachal Pradesh, buildings collapse in Kullu

IMD issues red alert, warning for heavy rainfall over the next two days in the state

Himachal: Kullu-Mandi Highway damaged after heavy rain, vehicles stranded

"There is a traffic jam stretching to nearly 5-10 kilometres. We have nothing to eat or drink. People are starving here. The snarl should be cleared soon," a commuter told ANI

CM Sukhu-led Himachal govt allocates Rs 165.22 crore for restoration works

He said that the State Government was working round the clock to ensure safety of life and properties

IMD issues red alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall in HP for next 2 days

During the past 24 hours, Shimla recorded 190 mm of rain, and during one hour, it recorded 60 mm of rain in the morning, an official said

Uttarakhand rains: One killed in landslide in Pauri, normal life disrupted

One person died in a landslide in Pauri district on Wednesday while water levels of the Pindar river and its tributary Pranmati in Chamoli district rose again following heavy rains in Uttarakhand, threatening to flood places located along their banks. The meteorological department has issued red or orange alerts for Wednesday in all the districts of the state. Due to continuous rains in most parts of the state, rivers and streams are in spate and many roads including national highways are blocked for traffic, affecting normal life. According to information received from the District Disaster Management Office of Pauri, debris suddenly fell from a hill near Ufrankhal on Jagatpuri-Ufrankhal-Ramnagar motorway in Thalisain tehsil at around 4 pm, hitting two labourers. One of the workers identified as Heera Singh (55) died in the accident while another named Shyam Singh (35) was injured. Both the labourers were residents of Paptoli. In Haridwar, the walls of three shops built near the

Roads blocked, educational institutions shut amid heavy rains in Himachal

Heavy overnight rains triggered landslides in Himachal Pradesh, blocking over 200 more roads, including the Shimla-Chandigarh highway, and damaging some houses in Solan district, officials said on Wednesday. No loss of life has been reported so far. With 200 more roads blocked, a total of 530 roads in the state are now shut. The Shimla-Kalka National Highway 5 connecting Shimla and Chandigarh was again blocked near Chaki Mor besides NH 21 (Mandi-Kullu road) and NH 154 (Mandi-Pathankot) road, according to the data of the State Emergency Operation Centre. Some houses have been damaged in Shakal village in the outskirts of Solan city as gushing waters entered houses and reports of damage to few houses and vehicles in Sabathu area following the landslide have poured in, Deputy Commissioner, Solan, Manmohan Sharma told PTI. As a safety measure, three houses were vacated in Panthaghati and Sanjauli areas of Shimla city and landslides and uprooting of trees have been reported in some part

Portion of Rishikesh-Badrinath NH-58 damaged in Chamoli, traffic stopped

According to the district administration, a 250-metre stretch of the highway in Purusadi was damaged because of which the local administration had to suspend the movement of traffic

Himachal rains: Thakur asks officials to build houses for those affected

Union minister Anurag Thakur has asked authorities in the district to construct houses for those who have lost their homes due to heavy rains in Himachal Pradesh. Chairing a review meeting on the damage caused by heavy rains in the district on Sunday, the Hamirpur MP said changes will be made in the Relief Manual of the Central and State Governments to provide more relief to the people hit by the calamity. Besides this, a way should be found to make additional provisions in the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana to provide relief to these people, he added. He directed the administration to provide accommodation facilities to the people living in relief camps and also made an appeal to people having spare accommodation to rent them to the affected people. If needed, the minister said, he would help the people pay rent from his own funds. Bilaspur is part of the Hamirpur parliamentary constituency. The Information and Broadcasting minister asserted that the central government was providing

17 bodies recovered from debris of Shiv Mandir in Himachal Pradesh's Shimla

Chief Secretary of the government of Himachal Pradesh Prabodh Saxena, while speaking to ANI said that two bodies of a family are still to be recovered

10 including 5 forest officials stuck in HP's Mandi, rescue ops underway

As per the Deputy Commissioner of Mandi Arindam Chaudhary, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and local administration teams are present on the spot for rescue operations

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Shimla's ex-deputy mayor sits on strike, urges rethink on development model

Former deputy mayor of Shimla Municipal Corporation Tikendar Panwar on Sunday sat on a 24-hour hunger strike on Ridge Ground here, and urged introspection on Himachal Pradesh' development model in view of the recent rain-related devastation in the state. Panwar demanded an inquiry commission on the matter to be headed by a retired judge of the Supreme Court to assess the flood related damages and design a new policy framework to counter it. He said the National Highway Authority of India and companies responsible for the construction of four-lane highways in the state should be prosecuted. The death toll in rain-related incidents in the state has climbed to 78. Of the 78 deaths since August 13, 24 were from the three landslides in Shimla alone -- 17 at the Shiva temple in Summer Hill, five in Fagli, and two in Krishna Nagar. The ex-deputy mayor said that the current disaster should be declared a national calamity. He also called for immediate mapping of the state's vulnerabilities

Met warns of heavy rain in Himachal Pradesh from August 22-24

The Met office here has issued an 'orange alert' for heavy to very heavy rain in Himachal Pradesh from August 22-24 and 'yellow alert' for heavy rain on August 21, even as the monsoon remained subdued in the state. Isolated parts of the state witnessed light rain on Sunday, it said. The Met also warned of moderate risk of flash floods in catchment areas of Chamba and Mandi districts and predicted a wet spell till August 26. Heavy rain can result in landslides, flash floods and increased water levels in rivers and drains, besides causing damage to standing crops, fruit plants and young seedlings, the weather office said.

Centre approves release of Rs 200 cr to rain-battered Himachal Pradesh

The Centre on Sunday approved the release of Rs 200 crore from the National Disaster Response Fund as advance assistance to Himachal Pradesh to help the rain-battered state undertake relief measures for affected people. A spokesperson of the Union Home Ministry said the Centre had earlier approved the advance release of Rs 360.80 crore from the central share of the State Disaster Response Fund in two instalments on July 10 and 17. The Central government also released Rs 189.27 crore of the state's past dues from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) on August 7, the spokesperson said. The home ministry has approved the release of Rs 200 crore, as an advance from the National Disaster Response Fund to the government of Himachal Pradesh to help them undertake relief measures for affected people during the ongoing monsoon season, a spokesperson said. The central government is monitoring the situation in Himachal Pradesh round the clock and providing necessary logistics and financ

Himachal suffered huge losses, will make all efforts to rehabilitate: Nadda

The Centre is concerned over the grave situation in rain-battered Himachal Pradesh and all efforts would be made to rehabilitate displaced persons, BJP president J P Nadda said on Sunday. Nadda along with Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur, former chief minister Jai Ram Thakur and state BJP president Rajiv Bindal is on a tour of the state to take stock of the situation. I am pained to see the devastation and loss of human lives and assure all help for rehabilitation of displaced persons, the BJP president, who started his visit of flood and rain-hit areas of the state from Paonta Sahib in Sirmaur, said after meeting a famiiy which lost five members in flash floods on August 10. Himachal has suffered huge losses and the union government is seriously concerned about the situation. Efforts are afoot by the administration to provide relief and take up restoration and rehabilitation works. Central help would continue to pour in and all the displaced persons would b

U'khand CM to meet ministers in Delhi, seeks assistance for disaster relief

100 per cent of the funds received from the central government under the centrally funded schemes run in the state should be spent on development works, said Chief Minister Dhami

BJP president Nadda to visit Himachal today, take stock of flood situation

According to the statement, Nadda on his visit to the flood-hit state will meet the affected family members of those who lost their lives due to the calamity