Page 5 - Floods

Pakistan facing risk of fresh floods, more deaths as toll crosses 1,500

Although waters have started receding in some areas, authorities are worried heavy rains in parts of neighboring India could swell key rivers in Pakistan

Pakistan crowdfunds $40 mn for dam but spent $63 mn on its ads: Report

he heavily advertised crowdsourced campaign, which was launched by a Supreme Court judge and was endorsed by former Prime Minister Imran Khan is the mega dam caught in a scandal.

Centre approves release of Rs 250 cr from NDRF to Assam for flood relief

The Centre on Friday approved the release of Rs 250 crore as grant of assistance from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) to Assam for rehabilitation and restoration work after floods and landslides this year, officials said. The decision has been taken by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma thanked the central government for approving the amount to the state. "We are extremely grateful to Adarniya PM Shri @narendramodi Ji and Adarniya HM Shri @AmitShah Ji for release of Rs 250 cr from National Disaster Response Fund to help Assam work on rehabilitation & restoration of the damages caused due to massive floods & landslides this year, Sarma tweeted. In a communication, the home ministry said the issues of severe flood and landslides during this Monsoon has been considered in the home ministry. The home ministry, after examination, decided with the approval of home minister to release an amount of Rs 250 crore 'on account basis' from ...

Water begins receding in Pakistan's worst flood-hit southern Sindh province

Floodwaters are receding in Pakistan's worst-hit southern Sindh province, officials said Friday, a potentially bright sign in an ongoing crisis that has left hundreds of thousands of people homeless in the impoverished South Asian country. The Indus River, which remained swollen until earlier this month, was now rushing at normal levels towards the Arabian Sea, according to Mohammad Irfan, an irrigation official in hard-hit Sindh. The water level in the past 48 hours receded as much as three feet in some of the inundated areas nearby, including the Khairpur and Johi towns, where waist-high water damaged crops and homes earlier this month. A day earlier, engineers had opened a key highway in the southwestern Baluchistan province, allowing rescue workers to speed aid to those suffering in a race against the spread of waterborne diseases and dengue fever. Still, hundreds of thousands of people in Sindh are living in makeshift homes and tents. Authorities say it will take months to ...

Pakistan receives 100 flights carrying relief items for flood victims

The humanitarian relief goods include food items, tents, blankets, medical supplies, survival and hygiene equipment, and high-capacity water pumps

Flood-hit Pakistan's food imports surge 65% during first two months of FY23

The major food imports include the country's main food staple wheat, palm oil and soybean oil among others, according to the latest stats issued by the bureau on Thursday

Flood-hit Pakistani citizens need America's assistance: US Congresswoman

Asserting that the people of Pakistan need America's help, a US lawmaker has introduced legislation to provide more help to the country that has been devastated by recent floods. The cash-strapped nation has been struggling with the worst floods in the past 30 years, leaving more than 1,400 dead and 33 million people affected since early June. A third of the country is submerged in water and one in every seven persons is badly affected by the floods that have led to an estimated USD 12 billion in losses that have left about 78,000 square kilometres (21 million acres) of crops under water. The people of Pakistan need our help. The Pakistani Americans have risen to their call. So many in my Congressional district are providing and offering to help send medical care if you will, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, co-chair of the Pakistani Congressional Caucus said in her remarks in the House of Representatives. Speaking on the floor of the House, Jackson-Lee said that it is very import

US provided over $53 mn this year to support flood response in Pakistan: WH

The US has provided over USD 53 million this year alone to support disaster resilience and flood response in Pakistan, the White House said Thursday. The cash-strapped nation has been struggling with the worst floods in the past 30 years, leaving more than 1,400 dead and 33 million people affected since early June. A third of the country is submerged in water and one in every seven persons is badly affected by the floods that have led to an estimated USD 12 billion in losses that have left about 78,000 square kilometres (21 million acres) of crops under water. We've provided a total of USD 53.1 million this year alone to support disaster resilience and flood response in Pakistan. Additionally, United States Central Command (CENTCOM) is airlifting 41,200 kitchen sheets, 1,500 rolls of plastic sheeting, 35,000 plastic tarps and 8,700 shelter fixing kits helping more than 300,000 people with shelter and household needs, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at h

Climate Change intensified rain that fueled Pakistan floods, heatwave

In addition to the rainfall, a heat wave in India and Pakistan earlier this year, also fueled by climate change, worsened the flooding that left a third of Pakistan under water, the scientists found.

Extreme weather, wildfires, floods jeopardise health care services: Report

Dr. Suzy Fitzgerald remembers looking out the windows as wildfire flames surrounded the hospital where she worked. We had fire in all three directions, Fitzgerald recalled. I thought, Oh gosh, this is serious. We need to get these people out.' Fitzgerald helped with the evacuation of 122 patients from Kaiser Permanente's Santa Rosa Medical Center on that night nearly five years ago, as the blaze gobbled up homes and buildings across Northern California. The hospital, which had filled with smoke, closed for 17 days. Medical centers around the country say that fires, flooding, heat waves and other extreme weather are jeopardizing medical services, damaging health care facilities and forcing patients to flee their hospital beds, according to a report released Thursday by the House Ways and Means Committee. At a hearing, Dr. Parinda Khatri, the CEO of Cherokee Health Systems, told the committee that a pediatric clinic in Knoxville, Tennessee, was forced to close for 10 days this summer

Bengaluru encroachments: Penalise builders, BBMP, says Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw

Biotechnology industry veteran Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has suggested penalising city civic body Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) for giving permissions leading to encroachments of storm water drains (SWDs) that resulted in the recent floods. The Executive Chairperson of Bengaluru-headquartered biopharmaceuticals company Biocon said the anti-encroachment drive launched by the BMMP this week to clear illegal structures sitting on SWDs, is a long overdue measure to address water logging which caused unprecedented havoc in parts of Bengaluru two weeks ago. "The question that begs to be answered is whether there will be a parallel investigation into how the BBMP and BDA gave permissions in the first place", she told PTI. "Moreover, we need to go beyond knee jerk quick fixes and find holistic long term solutions. For example, razing buildings will impact helpless and innocent homeowners. Why not penalise developers and BDA/BBMP and use that

5 killed due to flood-related incidents in Pakistan in 24 hrs: Authorities

Two children and a woman were among those who lost their lives in separate flood-related incidents, according to an NDMA report released on Wednesday evening

Traffic, water shortages, now floods: Is Bengaluru dying a slow death?

Concrete replaced green spaces and construction around the edge of lakes blocked off connecting canals, limiting the city's capacity to absorb and siphon off water

Pakistan rejects flood relief donation worth $145,000 from Bangladesh

Pakistan has rejected Bangladesh's offer to supply humanitarian aid worth 14 million takas (roughly $145,000) as the country continued to suffer great loss during monsoon flooding

IT parks, posh villas top list of stormwater drain encroachers in Bengaluru

The Bengaluru civic agency has identified several illegal structures that have come up on stormwater drains, which had recently caused severe flooding in parts of the city, particularly information technology (IT) corridors and arterial roads. The anti-encroachment drive echoed in the state assembly as well. Speaking in the House on Wednesday, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai reiterated that there will not be any discrimination in the drive to free illegal occupants of stormwater drains. According to an Assistant Executive Engineer (Stormwater Drain-Mahadevapura zone) of the BBMP, Bagmane Techpark, Wipro, and Purva Paradise have encroached on drains across various survey numbers of Mahadevapura zone, which bore the brunt of the rain fury. Real estate firm RBD was another encroacher which occupied drains in Junnasandra, Halanayakanahalli and Doddakannahalli, as per the list, along with 'Ecospace' in Bellandur and Gopalan Group in Hoodi and Bellandur, the AEE stated. Bellan

Insurers juggle surge in claims in aftermath of Bengaluru floods

Three days of heavy rainfall from Sept. 5 saw homes and offices in Bengaluru's IT corridor flooded, sparking chaos and raising questions over poor urban planning.

Wipro, Prestige, Eco Space: Big names on list of encroachers in Bengaluru

The list was made by the state government, after severe flooding in the parts of Bengaluru, to find the names of buildings that have closed nearly 700 drains in the city

Bengaluru rains: How bad infra took Indian Silicon Valley under the weather

The flood on August 30, which brought parts of Bengaluru to its knees, led to a loss of about Rs 225 crore in a single day

Pak's economic loss due to massive floods might be over $40 bn: FM

The recent cataclysmic floods that have ravaged Pakistan may have caused over USD 40 billion in economic losses and damages, according to an initial assessment. The new number is even far higher than the USD 30 billion figure given by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres who was in the country on a solidarity visit last week. The figure of USD 40 billion losses was flagged in a flood response centre meeting of the National Flood Response Coordination Centre (NFRCC) on Monday where the Ministry of Finance presented an assessment report titled An Early Assessment of Flood Impact on Pakistan's Economy, The Express Tribune reported on Tuesday. The finance ministry's initial assessment report showed that economic losses were around USD 18 billion. Planning Minister and Chairman of NFRCC, Ahsan Iqbal said, The devastating conditions suggest that the scale of flood losses is in the range of USD 30 billion to over USD 40 billion." We are going through the process of a ...

CM Bommai assures on time completion of Bengaluru's stormwater drain work

In the backdrop of recent rains and deluge in Bengaluru, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday assured the government will ensure a time-bound completion of the stormwater drain work that is underway across the city and provide more funds for this purpose. Speaking in the Legislative Assembly, he highlighted that the ongoing work of clearing encroachments along the stormwater drains was taking time and the government is at it. Also, the master plan for stormwater drains is being redrawn to increase its capacity, he said. "Work on developing stormwater drains across the city is underway and the work will continue without any break. I have kept Rs 1,500 crore in the budget for this and recently I have given another Rs 300 crore, so it is a total of Rs 1,800 crore for stormwater drains. This will not be enough and an additional budget will be given," Bommai said. He said the government will ensure that a total 859.90 kilometres of stormwater drain work gets completed. "