Page 21 - Natural Disasters

4.2 magnitude earthquake jolts Kutch in Gujarat, no casualty reported

An earthquake of 4.2 magnitude hit Gujarat's Kutch district on Monday morning, the Institute of Seismological Research (ISR) said. There was no report of any loss of life or damage to property, district authorities said. The earthquake was recorded at 6.38 am with its epicentre 11 km north-north east of Dudhai village in the district, the Gandhinagar-based ISR said in an update on its website. It was preceded by a tremor of 3.2 magnitude reported at 5.18 am with its epicentre 23 km east-southeast of Khavda village in the district, the ISR said. Kutch, which is about 400 km away from Ahmedabad, is located in a very high risk seismic zone and earthquakes of low intensity occur there regularly. The district, located in Saurashtra region, experienced a devastating earthquake in January 2001 in which 13,800 people were killed and another 1.67 lakh were injured. The earthquake had caused severe damage to properties in various towns and villages of the district.

Construction of pre-fab shelters begins for displaced families in Joshimath

The Central Building Research Institute on Monday began the construction of model pre-fabricated shelters for displaced families in subsidence-hit Joshimath in Uttarakhand, an official said on Monday. One, two and three BHK models of pre-fabricated shelters will soon be built near HDRI, Joshimath, Disaster Management Secretary Ranjit Kumar Sinha said. The structures will be built on land belonging to the horticulture department, he said. Sinha said land levelling work has also been started in Dhak village in Chamoli district prior to the construction of model pre-fab shelters there, he said. If required, the option of arranging accommodation for displaced persons in hostels of Bhararisain Vidhansabha has also been kept open, Sinha said. An amount of Rs 3.45 crore has been distributed among 261 affected families as interim relief, according to officials said. As many as 278 families have been evacuated to temporary relief centres and the number of houses in Joshimath that have ...

Joshimath land subsidence: Demolition work halted due to heavy snowfall

The district administration has made arrangements for bonfires at various places in the city in view of the harsh weather

Death toll after avalanche on Tibet highway rises to 13, rescue efforts on

The death toll in an avalanche that buried vehicles outside a highway tunnel in Tibet has risen to 13 with rescue efforts continuing, authorities said Friday

Joshimath subsidence: Irdai asks insurers to expeditiously settle claims

Insurers have also been asked to engage adequate number of surveyors immediately as required and, if need be, consider engaging surveyors from neighboring areas as well

No further widening of cracks in Joshimath in last three days: Official

The displaced will be given better facilities by the state government, Dhami said and asked officials to prepare a rehabilitation plan in consultation with the affected residents

Profiles of water samples of Joshimath, NTPC project site different: NIH

Evacuation of families to safety and demolition of unsafe buildings in the town continues, he said adding 258 families have so far been shifted to temporary relief centres

65-70% people in Joshimath living normal life: Uttarakhand CM Dhami

He said he has briefed the home minister about the steps taken for the relief and rehabilitation of the affected people in Joshimath

Uttarakhand govt to shift 130 families from Joshimath to Pipalkoti village

The Uttarakhand government has decided to shift 130 of the 850 families in Joshimath affected by land subsidence to Pipalkoti village for their permanent rehabilitation.

Joshimath land subsidence not linked to tunneling, claim NTPC officers

NTPC's Additional GM Geology Bhuvnesh Kumar said that no blasting was being done in the tunnel currently and water has not filled in it either

Joshimath-Rishikesh highway stretch may face more landslides: Study

Scientists have found that vulnerability of the highway stretch in Uttarakhand between Joshimath and Rishikesh to landslides is likely to increase

SC refuses to consider plea to declare Joshimath crisis a national disaster

The petitioner has contended the subsidence has occurred due to large-scale industrialisation and sought immediate financial assistance and compensation to the affected people

Cracks in 849 buildings in Joshimath, dismantling of unsafe hotels underway

The district administration has so far distributed Rs 301.77 lakh worth interim assistance to 396 affected families

Joshimath crisis: Cracks in 44 more buildings, including PWD's rest house

The labourers in the premises were shifted to a safer place when more cracks appeared on the night of January 14

Vaishno Devi, Amarnath at risk of environmental disaster: Mehbooba Mufti

Joshimath is just the tip of the iceberg. In similar ecologically fragile states like J&K, Shri Amarnath & Vaishno Devi are environmental disasters in waiting

PMO team visits Joshimath to inspect land subsidence; more cracks appear

According to sources, the purpose of the visit was to separately inspect the condition of the areas with visible cracks and deteriorating water quality

Himachal CM Sukhu urges Centre to enhance disaster fund for state

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has urged the Union government to enhance the disaster fund for Himachal Pradesh as the State is prone to various types of natural disasters due to difficult topographical and climatic conditions. He was speaking at the inauguration function after setting up of Doppler Weather Radars at Jot in Chamba district and Murari Devi in Mandi district by the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Earth Sciences, Jitendra Singh through virtual mode on Sunday. A Doppler Weather Radar was installed at Kufri near Shimla on January 15, 2021 and with the commissioning of these additional two radars, about 70 per cent area of the State will be covered for weather forecast, a statement released here said. Stating that about 30 per cent area of the tribal Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti districts will not be covered under these Radars, he urged the Union Minister of State to provide additional Radar for these districts. He said that cloud bursts have

Uttarakhand land subsidence crisis: Wall collapses in Joshimath's village

Following the wall collapse incident, authorities deployed Men and Machinery to rebuild the wall

Joshimath crisis: Sushma Swaraj opposed dams on Ganga to 'save' Uttarakhand

With Joshimath reeling under severe crisis after hundreds of buildings developed cracks due to shifting soil, an old video of late BJP leader Sushma Swaraj has surfaced where she warns of an imminent threat to Uttarakhand from dams being built on the Ganga river. In the video being widely shared on social media and flashed on news channels, Swaraj is seen saying in Parliament that the dams being built on the Ganga and its tributaries will have to be scrapped to save Uttarakhand in the wake of the 2013 Kedarnath disaster. This assumes significance as questions are being raised on the role of NTPC's Tapovan-Vishnugad hydel project in the land subsidence crisis in Joshimath. Swaraj was addressing the Lok Sabha as the then Leader of Opposition. Disasters are occurring in Uttarakhand as the Ganga river is being confined in tunnels, she had said. "Whatever amount of money may have been spent over them (dams), it will be less than the amount that will have to be spent over relief and ...

Two more hotels lean towards each other in Joshimath, wider cracks appear

Two more hotels were dangerously leaning towards each other while wider cracks have appeared near Auli ropeway and in other areas of land subsidence-hit Joshimath on Sunday. Also, the flow of water increased from a suspected underground channel burst in JP Colony in the Marwari area of the town after a temporary decline a couple of days back. Muddy water has been percolating down from it constantly since January 2 but experts are not sure about its origins. Disaster Management Secretary Ranjit Kumar Sinha said a constant vigil is being maintained on the pace of water percolation in the area which has been fluctuating. The process of demolishing two adjacent hotels Malari Inn and Mount View which were declared unsafe was still underway. Around 100 metres from the site, two more hotels - Snow Crest and Comet - have tilted dangerously towards each other and have been vacated as a precautionary measure. "The gap between the two hotels was around four feet earlier but now it has narrowe