Page 4 - Natural Calamities

Severe storms kill 3 as tornadoes tear through central, southeastern US

Severe storms tore through the central and southeast U.S. late Tuesday and Wednesday, spawning damaging tornadoes, producing massive hail, and killing two people in Tennessee and one person in North Carolina. A storm that rumbled across northeastern Tennessee brought high winds that knocked down powerlines and trees. Claiborne County Sheriff Bob Brooks said a 22-year-old man was in a car struck by one of the trees. Wednesday afternoon, a tornado emergency the weather service's highest alert level was issued for an area south of Nashville including the towns of Spring Hill, Chapel Hill and Eagleville. The National Weather Service had previously reported a likely tornado on the ground in nearby Columbia, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) south of Nashville. People in Columbia were injured and homes were damaged, according to Lynn Thompson, assistant director of Maury County 911. Thompson told The Associated Press that he could not provide any further details: We're getting overloaded .

Storms bring tornadoes to Oklahoma, Kansas; forecasts warn more to come

Millions of people in the central United States must brace themselves for powerful storms that may include long-track tornadoes, hurricane-force winds and baseball-sized hail, forecasters said Monday, issuing a rare high risk warning for central Oklahoma and southern Kansas. Much of Oklahoma and parts of Kansas are at the greatest risk of bad weather including areas in Oklahoma, such as Sulphur and Holdenville, still recovering from a tornado that killed four and left thousands without power late last month. Both the Plains and Midwest have been hammered by tornadoes this spring. The National Weather Service said that more than 3.4 million people, 1,614 schools and 159 hospitals in Oklahoma, portions of southern Kansas and far north Texas, face the most severe threat for tornadoes. In all, nearly 10 million people live in areas that could be affected, the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center said. Schools and colleges across the state, including the University of ...

Tornadoes kill 4 in Oklahoma; governor issues state of emergency

Tornadoes that tore through Oklahoma have flattened buildings across one rural town, killing at least four people, causing widespread power outages and leaving a trail of destruction, Gov. Kevin Stitt said Sunday. Nearly 30,000 people remained without power after tornadoes began late Saturday night. The damage was extensive in Sulphur, a town of about 5,000 people, where some downtown buildings were reduced to rubble and roofs were sheared off houses across a 15-block radius. You just can't believe the destruction, Stitt said. It seems like every business downtown has been destroyed. Stitt said about 30 people were injured in Sulphur alone. Dozens of reported tornadoes have wreaked havoc in the nation's midsection since Friday, with flood watches and warnings in effect Sunday for Oklahoma and other states including Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and Texas. In Oklahoma, a tornado ripped through Holdenville, a town of about 5,000 people, late Saturday, killing two people, and injuring f

Tornadoes killed at least 3 people in Ohio, crews searching for others

Tornadoes tore through several central US states, flattening homes and trailers in an RV park and killing at least three people, authorities said. Crews and cadaver dogs searched for more victims in the rubble Friday. Thursday night's storms left trails of destruction across parts of Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and Arkansas. About 40 people were injured and dozens of homes damaged in one Indiana community. Tornadoes were also suspected in Illinois and Missouri. It appeared the worst hit was the Indian Lake area in Ohio's Logan County, northwest of Columbus, with the villages of Lakeview and Russells Point devastated. At least three people died, said Sheriff Randy Dodds. Search crews went into neighbourhoods that had been blocked by gas leaks and fallen trees overnight and made a second pass in areas that were checked in the darkness right after the storm, Dodds said. It's going to take a long time, he said, adding he wasn't aware of anybody unaccounted for. Earlier, the sheriff told NB

16,372 died in natural calamities in Odisha in last five years: Minister

As many as 16,372 people have died in various natural calamities in Odisha in the last five years, Disaster Management Minister Sudam Marndi informed the assembly on Thursday. In reply to a question from BJP MLA Kusum Tete, Marndi said 16,372 people have died in natural calamities such as cyclone, lightning strike, fire accident, boat capsize, drowning, flood, heatwave, whirlwind, heavy rain and snakebite from 2018-19 to 2022-23. While 7,874 people drowned, 5,219 died due to snakebites and lightning strikes killed 2,058 people in Odisha in the last five years, he said. Similarly, 759 people died in fire accidents, 140 in cyclones, 46 in boat capsize incidents, 73 in floods, 141 due to heatwaves, while whirlwinds and heavy rain accounted for 31 deaths each. As per the statement of the minister, Mayurbhanj district has registered the highest number of 1,444 disaster deaths during the period, followed by Ganjam (1,162), Balasore (1,139) and Keonjhar (1,115). Boudh reported the lowest

Aamir Khan extends aid to families affected by calamity in Himachal Pradesh

He has donated Rs 25 lakh to the Aapda Rahat Kosh-2023 as a charitable gesture to help the families devastated by the current disaster

Received 'emergency alert: severe' text on your phone? Here's what it means

The government said the alert system ensures that necessary emergency info reaches the maximum number of people in a timely manner

LIVE: More than 100 rescued in flood-hit Yavatmal district in Maharashtra

Catch all the latest LIVE updates from across the globe here

Centre doing its best to help calamity-hit states, says Anurag Thakur

The Centre is doing its best to help states, including Himachal Pradesh, that have been hit by natural calamities in their hour of crisis, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said on Saturday. The Union government has already released Rs 361 crore in two installments and more financial aid will be released shortly, he said. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Saturday said Himachal Pradesh has suffered losses of about Rs 8,000 crore as heavy rain wreaked havoc in the hill state, triggering landslides and flash floods and damaging roads and other infrastructure. According to the state emergency response centre, the losses amounted to about Rs 4,000 crore till Friday night and Sukhu had sought an interim relief of Rs 2,000 crore from the Union Home Ministry. On Saturday, Thakur visited the Dharmapur assembly segment in Mandi district and various regions of Hamirpur district where he met victims of the recent flood. The sight was shocking and beyond expectation, Thakur, who holds the U

23 injured, no lives lost after Biparjoy landfall in Gujarat: NDRF DG

No lives were lost after Cyclone Biparjoy made a landfall in Gujarat, however, 23 people were injured and electricity supply was disrupted in about 1,000 villages in the state, NDRF Director General (DG) Atul Karwal said on Friday. The Arabian Sea cyclone ripped through Kutch and parts of Saurashtra region of Gujarat on Thursday leaving a trail of destruction. Heavy rains lashed the entire Kutch district since the cyclone started making landfall near Jakhau Port from 6.30 pm on Thursday and the process continued till 2.30 am, according to officials. Karwal told reporters in Delhi that while two lives were "tragically" lost before the landfall of the cyclone, not a single human life was lost post the landfall in Gujarat. This is because of the in-depth and coordinated efforts undertaken by the Gujarat administration and other agencies that worked to ensure that the loss of life and property is minimum, he added. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) chief added that at least 2

No major impact of Biparjoy in Pakistan as it weakens after landfall

Pakistan was largely spared the full force of Cyclone Biparjoy which weakened into a severe cyclonic storm on Friday after making landfall in Gujarat, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake in the Indian state. People in Sindh's coastal city of Keti, who braved the cyclone threat and a warning of monsoon rains, are now returning to their homes after the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said the cyclone has weakened into a severe cyclonic storm from a very severe cyclonic storm. The Very Severe Cyclonic Storm (VSCS) 'BIPARJOY' over the northeast Arabian Sea after crossing the Indian Gujarat coast (near Jakhau port) has weakened into a Severe Cyclonic Storm (SCS), the Met Office said in its latest advisory," it said. "The system is likely to weaken further into a Cyclonic Storm (CS) by today noon and subsequently into a Depression by today evening," the alert added. Biparjoy, (meaning disaster or calamity in Bengali), completed landfall on Thursday night, authorities ...

As 'Biparjoy' cyclone threat looms, Gujarat govt says fully prepared

As cyclone 'Biparjoy' intensifies into a severe cyclonic storm and remains centred around 1,060 km south-west of Gujarat's coastal district of Porbandar, the state government on Wednesday said it was fully prepared to deal with possible natural calamities. According to India Meteorological Department (IMD) officials here, Biparjoy, the first storm brewing in the Arabian Sea this year, is likely to cause wind gusts of 40 to 50 kmph in coastal districts in the coming days and also bring light rains in parts of the state. Fishermen in Gujarat have been warned not to venture into the Arabian sea till June 14. The cyclone is likely to cause light rains in Saurashtra and south Gujarat regions between June 9 and 11, an IMD official said. Relief commissioner Alok Kumar Pandey said the state administration was geared up to deal with potential natural calamities in the monsoon season. After attending the season's first review meeting of the weather watch group involving various ...

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36 dead due to floods and landslides in Brazil, cities cancel Carnival

Brazilian authorities said that at least 26 people have died in two cities in north Sao Paulo state amid floods and landslides, and this number could still rise. The city hall of Sao Sebastiao confirmed on Sunday that 25 people died and the mayor of Ubatuba said a 7-year-old girl was killed. The cities of Sao Sebastiao, Ubatuba, Ilhabela and Bertioga, some of the hardest hit and now under state of calamity, canceled their Carnival festivities as rescue teams struggle to find missing, injured and feared dead in the rubble. Our rescue teams are not managing to get to several locations; it is a chaotic situation, said Felipe Augusto, the mayor of Sao Sebastiao. Later, he added there are dozens of people missing and that 50 houses collapsed in the city due to the landslides. Augusto posted in his social media channels several videos of widespread destruction in his city, including one of baby being rescued by locals lined up on a flooded street. Brazil's President Luiz Incio Lula da S

Uttarakhand: Chamoli DM inspects landslide-affected areas in Joshimath

The District Magistrate said that the buildings which have developed excessive cracks due to landslides should be evacuated and shifted to safer places

NZ cyclone fatalities reach 8; widespread flooding, landslides reported

The death toll from New Zealand's cyclone reached eight on Friday with more than 4,500 people still unaccounted for four days after the nation's most destructive weather event in decades brought widespread flooding, landslides and power outages, the prime minister said. Cyclone Gabrielle struck the country's north on Monday and the level of damage has been compared to Cyclone Bola in 1988. That storm was the most destructive on record to hit the nation of 5 million people. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said three more fatalities had been confirmed since Thursday and police held grave fears for other missing persons. Police report that there are 4,549 persons reported as uncontactable. A team of 80 people are working now to narrow down this list as quickly as possible and to prioritize contact with those who are most likely to be missing, Hipkins told reporters. Hipkins said he didn't know how far the death toll would climb. The thing is we don't know. We're not talking huge numbers

J-K land subsidence: GSI team visits Doda after 19 houses develop cracks

Earlier in December the people in Doda started witnessing cracks in their residences

6.1 magnitude quake hits China's Xinjiang region, no casualties reported

The epicentre is located in an unpopulated area, 105 km away from the city of Alaer and 141 km away from the Shaya county seat

Earthquake of magnitude 5.5 hits 162 km northwest of Tobelo, Indonesia

A 6.2-magnitude earthquake jolted the coast of Indonesia in the early hours on January 16

Joshimath crisis: Roof of house with cracks collapses, courtyard sinks

An affected local said that the cracks had been increasing rapidly in the area