Page 17 - Natural Disasters

All trapped workers safe, says CM Dhami on Uttarkashi tunnel collapse

The NDRF teams say they have been able to establish communication with the trapped workers and all of them are in a safe position

Sikkim flood: Part of NH-10 highway restored for 4-wheeler movement

Over two weeks after parts of Sikkim were devastated by a flash flood, the authorities have opened the damaged National Highway 10 for one-way movement for four-wheelers, according to a government notification on Saturday. People now can use NH-10, considered the lifeline for the state, to drive between Sikkim's capital Gangtok and Siliguri in West Bengal for 12 hours from 6 am. The transport department notification also provided two routes for heavy vehicles to move between these two places, avoiding the NH-10. The government has taken several measures so that prices of essential commodities such as food items and medicines do not escalate, as the suggested routes are longer than the ones used to be taken earlier, the notification said. The flash flood in the Teesta river that hit the Himalayan state in the wee hours of October 4 left at least 78 people dead in Sikkim and northern West Bengal. In its 7 pm bulletin on Saturday, the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority (SSDMA

Afghanistan earthquake death toll over 4000, nearly 2,000 houses destroyed

The Ministry of Disaster Management of Afghanistan has announced that on Saturday that 1,983 residential houses have also been destroyed in 20 villages in Herat

Sikkim flood: 62 missing people found alive, death toll rises to 33

The toll in the flash flood in Sikkim rose to 30 as four more bodies were found on Saturday, while 62 people who were reported missing for the past three days were found alive, a government agency said here. The number of missing people thus came down to 81, the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority (SSDMA) said in its latest bulletin on Saturday evening. An inter-ministerial central team will visit the flood-hit state from Sunday to assess the damage due to the natural calamity, Union minister Ajay Kumar Mishra said here. The flash flood triggered by a cloudburst in the early hours of Wednesday affected 41,870 people in four districts of the Himalayan state, with Mangan bearing the brunt of the calamity as a population of around 30,300 were hit by the disaster, it said. The other three affected districts are Gangtok, Pakyang and Namchi. Of the 30 deaths - four were in Mangan, six in Gangtok district, 19 in Pakyong and one in Namchi. The report said that the 19 deceased peop

Two 6.3 magnitude earthquakes kill nearly 100, injure 500 in Afghanistan

Two 6.3 magnitude earthquakes killed at least 15 and injured nearly 40 others in western Afghanistan on Saturday, said a spokesperson for the country's national disaster authority. Mohammad Abdullah Jan said four villages in the Zenda Jan district in Herat bore the brunt of the quakes and aftershocks. Dozens of houses have been damaged. The United States Geological Survey reported the 6.3 magnitude tremblors. It said the epicentre was 40 kilometres (24.8 miles) northwest of Herat city. There was an aftershock with a 5.5 magnitude. A map on the USGS website indicates seven earthquakes in the area. At least five powerful earthquakes struck the city around noon, Herat city resident Abdul Shakor Samadi said. All people are out of their homes, Samadi said. Houses, offices and shops are all empty and there are fears of more earthquakes. My family and I were inside our home, I felt the quake. His family began shouting and ran outside, afraid to return indoors. Telephone connections went

Central team to visit flood-hit Sikkim from Sunday to assess damage: Govt

An inter-ministerial central team will visit flood-hit Sikkim from Sunday to assess the damage due to the natural calamity, Union Minister Ajay Kumar Mishra said. Mishra, the union minister of state for home affairs, arrived here on Saturday for a three-day visit to the Himalayan state. He said the Centre has been monitoring the flood situation in Sikkim and assured the state administration of all necessary support and assistance. Mishra held a meeting with Chief Secretary V B Pathak and senior officials of the state government, army and other organisations. "The Centre is closely monitoring the situation in Sikkim and all the necessary support and assistance for the state is underway," Mishra said. Officials of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Border Roads Organisation (BRO), National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDC) and NHPC Ltd were also present at the meeting. Mishra also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah

Global infra faces losses worth $300 bn due to climate change: Report

The report said the annual investment required to fund the infrastructure deficit, achieve the sustainable development goals, and strengthen resilience by 2050 is about to $9.2 trillion

Cabinet Secy reviews situation in Sikkim, emphasises evacuation of people

Gauba's directions came while chairing the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) meeting

8 dead, 23 army men among 49 missing as flash flood wreaks havoc in Sikkim

At least eight people died and 49 others, including 23 army personnel, went missing on Wednesday after a cloudburst over Lhonak Lake in north Sikkim triggered a flash flood in the Teesta River basin, officials said. Three of the dead were washed up in north Bengal, they said. The flood in Sikkim that started around 1.30 am was made worse by the release of water from Chungthang dam, the officials said. Five bodies have been recovered from Golitar and Singtam region, Gangtok Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Mahendra Chettri said. Another official said besides the 23 army personnel, 26 civilians were also missing, while 45 people rescued, including 18 injured. A steel bridge at Singtam, known as Indreni bridge, 30 km from the state capital Gangtok has been completely washed away by Teesta river water early Wednesday, the official said. The Sikkim government, in a notification, said the natural calamity has been declared as a disaster. The release of water from the Chungthang dam led

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

Earthquake of magnitude 6.3 jolts Philippines, no loss of life reported

An earthquake of magnitude 6.3 on the Richer scale jolted the Philippines on Wednesday, the National Centre of Seismology (NCS) informed through a post on social media.The earthquake occurred at 16:51:49 IST on Wednesday, at a depth of 160 kms."Earthquake of Magnitude:6.3, Occurred on 04-10-2023, 16:51:49 IST, Lat: 5.34 & Long: 126.43, Depth: 160 Km, Location: Philippines," read a post on the official handle of NCS on X.Earlier in June, a deep earthquake shook parts of the Philippines, southwest of the capital. The 6.2 magnitude earthquake on Thursday morning near Hukay, about 120 kilometres (75 miles) below the earth's surface, the US Geological Survey said.Deep quakes are often widely felt but with less potential to cause major damage. Hukay is about 140 kilometers (87 miles) from Manila.Earlier, two strong earthquakes of magnitudes 6.2 and 4.6 struck Nepal on Tuesday, the National Centre for Seismology (NCS) reported, adding that the tremors were felt across large parts of ...

Global infra faces losses of $300 bn amid worsening climate impacts: CDRI

The global annual average loss (AAL) in the principal infrastructure sectors due to disasters and climate change currently stands between USD 301 and USD 330 billion, according to a biennial report from the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI). The inclusion of health and education infrastructure, and building stock, increases that range to USD 732 to USD 845 billion -- around one-seventh of the global GDP growth in the financial year 2021-2022 -- with nearly half of this contingent liability held by the low-and-middle-income countries, the report said. The low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs), therefore, face a multi-dimensional challenge -- a large infrastructure deficit that constrains social and economic development, precarious and poor-quality infrastructure due to deficiencies in infrastructure governance, disaster-related asset loss and damage and service disruption, and a stock of legacy infrastructure increasingly ill-suited to address the challenges ...

String of volcanic tremors raises fears of mass evacuations in Italy

Hundreds of small tremors have shaken a densely populated volcanic area west of the Italian city of Naples in recent weeks, pushing the government to quickly redraft mass evacuation plans, even though experts don't see an imminent risk of eruption. In the latest of a long string of tremors, a 4.0-magnitude earthquake hit the region of Campi Flegrei (Phlegraean Fields) Monday. The region is home to a caldera, a cauldron-shaped depression left behind by the eruption of a very large volcano. The one in Campi Flegri is the largest in Europe and last erupted in 1538. A new explosion would put half a million inhabitants at risk. Monday's tremor followed a 4.2-magnitude quake recorded last week, the strongest in the area for 40 years, according to the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV). Experts at INGV have warned authorities and residents that tremors could intensify in the near future as seismic activity continues. However, they have clarified that the intensity of

West Bengal govt cautions 7 districts on possible flood situation

The West Bengal government on Monday said that there is a high possibility of flood in seven districts of the state due to continued incessant rainfall in the upper catchment areas of neighbouring Jharkhand. Chief Secretary H K Dwivedi on Monday afternoon held an urgent virtual meeting with senior officials of the districts of Paschim Bardhaman, Bankura, Birbhum, Purba Bardhaman, Paschim Medinipur, Hooghly and Howrah and directed them to immediately take all forms of precautionary measures. "During the meeting, the chief secretary directed all District Magistrates and SPs to immediately identify low-lying and flood-prone areas as well as start monitoring waterlogging and embankment breaches and take proper steps for their remedies," an official statement said. "The chief secretary informed the meeting that the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted rainfall to continue till October 5 with heavy rainfall predicted tomorrow. The well-marked low-pressure area is currently

Morainic foundation, building pressure behind Joshimath subsidence: Report

Scientific and technical institutions studying land subsidence in Joshimath have attributed the crisis to the hill town's location on a slope over morainic deposits or loose sediments, population pressure, construction of multi-storeyed buildings and the absence of a system for proper disposal of water coming from the upper reaches. Though the reports are separate and approach the problem from different angles, they are largely in concurrence with each other on the combination of factors that may have led to the aggravation of the situation in Joshimath early this year. Joshimath's susceptibility to land subsidence because of being located on a foundation of loose sediments coupled with increasing population pressure and multi-storeyed buildings, including hotels, in the town are some of the factors cited in nearly all the reports submitted by eight different institutions. The Central Building Research Institute, Central Ground Water Board, Geological Survey of India, Indian ...

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

Earthquake-struck Morocco to spend nearly $12 billion on recovery

Funding for the reconstruction will come from the government budget, local authorities, donations, international aid and a special fund for the management of earthquake's effects

HP govt to demand Centre to declare state situation as national disaster

The Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu moved the resolution Under rule 102 on the first day of the monsoon session of the Assembly for discussion

Himachal CM Sukhu donates all his savings to state disaster relief fund

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Friday donated all his savings worth Rs 51 lakh to the state disaster relief fund to extend a helping hand to the people affected by natural calamities, according to a statement. The chief minister and his wife Kamlesh Thakur presented a cheque of Rs 51 lakh to Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena at their official residence here, the statement issued here said. "I could well understand the pain of the people and their plight during the recent monsoon fury in which more than 260 precious lives were lost and many rendered homeless, besides suffering huge losses," he said. Every section of society had voluntarily contributed towards the relief fund. Even children broke their piggy banks to help those in distress, the elders parted with their pension and the state government employees contributed generously from their salary to contribute towards the Aapda Raahat Kosh (disaster relief fund), he said. Earlier, the governments of Bihar

NDMA tests pan-India 'emergency alert system' for disaster management

The sample testing message, sent through the Cell Broadcasting System, was timestamped at 12:19 pm on September 15