Page 11 - Natural Disasters

Wayanad landslides: Survivors recount horror as death toll touches 158

Heavy engineering equipment and rescue dog teams are being airlifted and disaster relief teams have been dispatched by the Indian Coast Guard after a series of landslides in the hilly areas of Kerala's Wayanad district on Tuesday. Extremely heavy rain triggered a series of landslides in the hilly areas of Kerala's Wayanad district early on Tuesday, leaving at least 123 people dead and 128 injured. Many were feared trapped under the debris. "As a tragic disaster struck at Wayanad in the wee hours, Indian Armed Forces swung into immediate action and 300 military personnel were moved forthwith to commence rescue operations. During the day, additional columns of Army, naval teams and helicopters from the Air Force were mobilised to assist the rescue and relief efforts," the defence minister's office said on X. "All out efforts are underway as additional troops, heavy engineering equipment, rescue dog teams and other essential relief stores are being airlifted by service aircraft from ..

Defence forces move in big way in rescue ops in Wayanad landslide

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Tuesday that 93 bodies have been recovered and 128 people have been injured after massive landslides

India lost 528 elephants due to unnatural causes in 5 years: Govt data

India lost 528 elephants in the last five years due to unnatural causes, including poaching, poisoning, electrocution, and train accidents, the government informed Parliament on Monday. In response to a question by BJP MPs Jayanta Kumar Roy and Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo, Union Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh told the Lok Sabha that 392 elephants died from electrocution and 73 were killed in train accidents during this period. Fifty elephants were killed by poachers and 13 succumbed to poisoning, he said. According to the government data tabled in the Lok Sabha, 71 elephants died due to electrocution in Odisha, 55 in Assam, 52 in Karnataka, 49 in Tamil Nadu, 32 in Chhattisgarh, 30 in Jharkhand, and 29 in Kerala. Assam and Odisha recorded 22 and 16 elephant deaths in train accidents. Poachers killed 17 pachyderms in Odisha, 14 in Meghalaya, and 10 in Tamil Nadu. Ten elephants were poisoned in Assam, two in Chhattisgarh, and one in West Bengal. According to the

Ethiopia mudslides: Search for missing continues as death toll rises to 257

Search teams were still digging at the site of deadly mudslides in southern Ethiopia on Friday, as the death toll rose to 257, according to the UN humanitarian office. Heavy rain triggered deadly slides on Sunday and Monday in a remote part of the country. The UN humanitarian office, known as OCHA, said in an update Thursday that the death toll could rise to as many as 500, citing local officials. More than 15,000 affected people need to be evacuated" from the area, it said. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is expected to visit the remote area on Friday. Mudslides there have been triggered by heavy rainfall in recent days. Abiy said earlier in the week that he was deeply saddened by this terrible loss. Photos from the scene show residents standing over the shrouded bodies of mudslide victims who are being pulled, one by one, from the muddy earth. Diggers have been using hand shovels to pick through the mud. Many people were buried in the Gofa Zone of Kencho Shacha Gozdi distric

Typhoon Gaemi strengthens near Taiwan, work halted, flights cancelled

Taiwan shuttered offices, schools and tourist sites across the island Wednesday ahead of a powerful typhoon that already worsened seasonal rains in the Philippines, killed at least eight people and displaced 600,000. Typhoon Gaemi's outer skirt was bringing heavy rain to much of Taiwan, where a direct landfall was expected Wednesday evening in the northern county of Ylan. Fishing boats were recalled to port amid turbulent seas, while air travelers were rushing to board overseas flights before the storm arrives, amid numerous cancellations. On Wednesday morning, the typhoon was east of Taiwan moving at 13 kilometres per hour with maximum sustained wind speeds of 162 kilometres per hour, gusting at 198 kilometres per hour, the Central Weather Administration said. In the capital Taipei, heavy rain was falling, but high winds had not yet arrived. Gaemi, which was called Carina in the Philippines, did not make landfall in the archipelago but enhanced its seasonal monsoon rains. The rains

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

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

Nepal landslide: 19 bodies recovered after two buses swept into river

Rescuers in Nepal have so far recovered 19 bodies, including that of four Indians, after two buses were swept into a swollen river following a landslide in the Chitwan district last week, sources here said on Thursday. The landslide happened in the Simaltal area along the Narayanghat-Mugling road in Chitwan district on Friday. Out of 54 people, three people swam to safety soon after the incident. Twenty-four people, including seven Indian nationals, were travelling on the first bus heading towards Kathmandu from Birgunj. Another bus heading to Gaur from Kathmandu was carrying 30 people. The two buses plunged into the Trishuli River when heavy mudslides hit them. Bodies of nineteen people have been recovered from the Simaltal twin bus accident site so far. Out of 19 bodies, four corpses belong to Indian nationals, according to the Armed Police Force sources. Five male dead bodies are yet to be identified. The local authorities in Nepal are coordinating with the Indian authorities i

Cities need a defence against disasters

There is an urgent need to strengthen the climate and disaster resilience of our cities-not just to prevent the damage to life and property, but also to keep the city functioning

Heavy rains in eastern Afghanistan kill at least 40, destroy houses

Heavy rains in eastern Afghanistan have killed at least 40 people and injured nearly 350 others, Taliban officials said Tuesday. Among the dead in Monday's storm were five members of the same family when the roof of their house collapsed in Surkh Rod district, according to provincial spokesperson Sediqullah Quraishi. Four other family members were injured. Sharafat Zaman Amar, a spokesperson for the Public Health Ministry, said the 347 injured people had been brought for treatment to the regional hospital in Nangarhar from Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province, and nearby districts. About 400 houses and 60 electricity poles were destroyed across Nangarhar, Quraishi said. Power was cut in many areas and there were limited communications in Jalalabad city, he said. The damage was still being assessed. Abdul Wali, 43, said much of the damage occurred within an hour. The winds were so strong that they blew everything into the air. That was followed by heavy rain, he said. His ..

Assam floods: Home minister talks with CM Sarma, assures him of all help

The flood situation in Assam improved gradually even as over 5 lakh people in 17 districts are still reeling under the deluge, official sources said on Tuesday. Union Home Minister Amit Shah telephoned Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to enquire about the situation, reiterating assurance of all help from the Centre, while Sarma also received a call from his Odisha counterpart offering use of the eastern state's disaster management system to mitigate the challenges. Assam Governor Gulab Chand Kataria met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national capital on Monday and apprised him of the flood situation, a Raj Bhavan source said here. The Prime Minister said that the Centre is with the state government to deal with the situation and empower the state in mitigating the impact of flood. Modi also assured the governor of his support and assistance in helping the state government in carrying out the rehabilitation work, the source added. They said over 5,11,000 people remained affe

Nepal seeks India's help to search for passengers swept in landslide

Nepal's Ministry of Home Affairs wrote to India on Monday, asking for India's assistance to search for the missing buses and passengers

Hurricane Beryl's cascade of crises in Texas a sign of storms to come

Beryl ripped through Texas last week and dropped up to 15 inches of rain in some areas, causing flooding. Storm winds knocked out power to over 1.3 million households and businesses

Houston struggles with Hurricane Beryl's chaotic aftermath, blackouts

Beryl, now downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone after striking Texas as a Category 1 hurricane, brought heavy rain Tuesday to Missouri, Illinois and Indiana

Landslides disrupt surface communication to several Arunachal districts

Surface communication to several districts in Arunachal Pradesh was disrupted by landslides triggered by rains, officials said on Monday. Landslides buried a person in Shi-Yomi district on Friday, according to a report of the state disaster management department. So far four people have died in the state since April due to natural calamities. The Tezu-Hayuliang road remains blocked at Mompani area in Lohit and Anjaw districts, while landslides blocked the Dari-Chambang and the Palin-Taraklengdi via Langdang village PMGSY road in Kra Daadi district, they said. NH 513 also remained blocked at Geying in East Siang district, a report said. Over 72,900 people and 257 villages have so far been affected by floods and landslides in Arunachal since April this year. Floods and landslides also caused extensive damage to roads, bridges, culverts, power lines, electric poles, transformers and water supply systems. According to the report, 160 roads, 76 power lines, 30 electric poles, three ..

Tornado hits town in Eastern China, kills five, injures 100 others

The powerful storm caused significant destruction, tearing roofs off houses and uprooting trees, with debris scattered throughout the air

Assam floods top points: Red alert in state, death toll rises to 52

Assam floods: Brahmaputra river is expected to recede by 35-65 cm by Saturday night, authorities advise continued caution near the riverfront as the water levels remain dangerously high

Hurricane Beryl strikes Jamaica killing at least 10, causes destruction

Almost 500 Jamaicans were in shelters by Wednesday afternoon, PM Andrew Holness told reporters, urging people in high-risk areas to move

Assam flood situation continues to worsens; 8 dead, over 1.6 mn hit

The flood situation in Assam continued to deteriorate with eight more people losing their lives and more than 16.25 lakh people reeling under the deluge across 27 districts on Wednesday, an official bulletin said. According to the daily flood report of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), two persons died at Tezpur revenue circle of Sonitpur district, while one each drowned at Mayong of Morigaon, Naharkatia of Dibrugarh, Pub Mangaladi of Darrang, Dergaon of Golaghat, Halem of Biswanath and Margherita of Tinsukia. With this, the total number of people losing their lives in this year's flood, landslide and storm has increased to 56. Besides, three more persons feared to be washed away by flood waters in Sonitpur, Sivasagar and Golaghat districts. The report said more than 16,25,000 people are hit due to the floods in Barpeta, Biswanath, Cachar, Charaideo, Chirang, Darrang, Dhemaji, Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Goalpara, Golaghat, Hailakandi, Hojai, Jorhat, Kamrup, Kamrup ...

Hurricane Beryl nears Caribbean after strengthening into Category 4 storm

Hurricane Beryl closed in on the southeastern Caribbean late Sunday after strengthening into what experts called an "extremely dangerous Category 4 storm, and government officials pleaded with people to take shelter. The storm was expected to make landfall in the Windward Islands on Monday morning. Hurricane warnings were in effect for Barbados, St. Lucia, Grenada, Tobago and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. This is a very dangerous situation, warned the US National Hurricane Centre in Miami, saying Beryl was forecast to bring life-threatening winds and storm surge. Beryl was centred about 150 miles (240 kilometres) southeast of Barbados late Sunday. It had maximum sustained winds of 130 mph (215 kph) and was moving west at 20 mph (31 kph). It is a compact storm, with hurricane-force winds extending 30 miles (45 kilometres) from its centre. A tropical storm warning was in effect for Martinique and Trinidad. A tropical storm watch was issued for Dominica, Haiti's entire southern coas