Natural Disasters

Study says warming-fuelled killer tornados to hit South of US more often

America will probably get more killer tornado- and hail-spawning supercells as the world warms, according to a new study that also warns the lethal storms will edge eastward to strike more frequently in the more populous Southern states, like Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee. The supercell storm that devastated Rolling Fork, Mississippi is a single event that can't be connected to climate change. But it fits that projected and more dangerous pattern, including more nighttime strikes in a southern region with more people, poverty and vulnerable housing than where storms hit last century. And the season will start a month earlier than it used to. The study in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society predicts a nationwide 6.6 per cent increase in supercells and a 25.8 per cent jump in the area and time the strongest supercells twist and tear over land under a scenario of moderate levels of future warming by the end of the century. But in certain areas in the South the ...

Mississippi tornadoes kill 23 people, destroy buildings overnight

Emergency officials in Mississippi said 23 people have been killed by tornadoes that tore through the state on Friday night, destroying buildings and knocking out power as severe weather that produced hail the size of golf balls moved through several southern states. The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency confirmed there had been 23 deaths as of 6:20 a.m. Saturday with dozens of injuries and four people missing throughout the state. The agency said in a Twitter post that search and rescue teams from numerous local and state agencies were deployed along with personnel to assist those impacted by the tornadoes. The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado caused damage about 60 miles (96 kilometers) northeast of Jackson, Mississippi. The rural towns of Silver City and Rolling Fork reported destruction as the tornado swept northeast at 70 mph (113 kph) without weakening, racing towards Alabama through towns including Winona and Amory into the night. The National Weather Servi

Govt plans to establish 100 observatories to expand seismological network

India plans to establish 100 more observatories in the next two to three years to further enhance seismic monitoring capabilities, Earth Sciences Minister Jitendra Singh told the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. In a written reply, Singh said the National Centre for Seismology (NCS) maintains a network of 152 observatories for monitoring of seismic activity in and around the country. He said the National Seismological Network has a detection capability down to magnitude 3.0 earthquake for most parts of the country. Singh said natural disasters are triggered by natural processes and not always affected by the human consequences. However, vulnerability of any region is always affected by non-engineered structures, he said. "Thus, there is a need to devise proper mitigation strategies by adopting scientific and engineering solutions to reduce the associated risks," the minister said. He said seismic microzonation study was important as it helps generate inputs for constructing ...

Need proactive approach to minimise damage from natural disasters: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday pitched for a "proactive rather than reactive" approach and the use of future technologies in handling natural disasters to minimize damage. Inaugurating the third session of the National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (NPDRR) here, the prime minister said, "We cannot stop natural disasters but we can come up with systems to minimize damage from them." "We have to be proactive rather than reactive. What was the situation in the country (earlier) for being proactive and what is the situation now? Even after five decades of Independence, there was no law in the country to tackle disasters," he said. He said that after the 2001 earthquake in Kutch, Gujarat was the first state to come up with a disaster management act. On the basis of this act, the Centre enacted the National Disaster Management Act in 2005, he said. Subsequently the National Disaster Management Authority was set up. The prime minister said traditional housing and town plan

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

Seismic dangers

The disaster in Turkey and Syria holds lessons for India

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

Houses develop cracks in J&K's Doda, 19 families to shift temporarily

Nineteen families were evacuated after their homes developed cracks at a village in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district, officials said on Friday. The authorities also declared unsafe a mosque and a religious school for girls at Nai Basti village in Thathri, 35 kilometres from Doda town along the Kishtwar-Batote National Highway. A few structures in the village started developing cracks a couple of days ago but the situation was exacerbated by a landslide on Thursday with the number of buildings damaged reaching 21. "We have shifted 19 affected families to a safer location after their houses were rendered unsafe. We are observing the situation and taking steps as per need to ensure their safety," Sub-Divisional Magistrate (Thathri) Athar Amin Zargar told PTI. The deputy commissioner and the senior superintendent of police visited the spot and assured all help to the affected families, he said. Zargar, however, refused to compare the situation to that in Uttarakhand's Joshimath -- th

296 families from subsidence-hit Joshimath shifted to safer places: Govt

The Uttarakhand government has shifted 995 members of 296 families from subsidence-hit Joshimath to safer places, Earth Sciences Minister Jitendra Singh told Rajya Sabha on Thursday. In written replies to three different questions in the Upper House, Singh said cracks have been observed in 863 buildings in Joshimath due to recent land subsidence and many structures have been reported to have moderate and major damages. He said after the incidents of land subsidence, all construction activities have been stayed by the Uttarakhand government in the entire Joshimath area, including Tapovan-Vishnugad power project and Helong Marwari By-Pass Road. As of January 30, a total of 235 affected families have been distributed Rs 3.50 crores as relief assistance, he said. Singh said the Uttarakhand government has issued orders for payment of Rs 1,00,000 as an advance for rehabilitation, and Rs 50,000 as displacement allowance to each affected family and for this purpose, Rs 45 crores have been

Major slide hampers movement of vehicles on Jammu-Srinagar national highway

The local people on Monday also claimed that the air traffic has also been impacted due to heavy snowfall in Srinagar

J-K highway closed for 2nd consecutive day due to landslide in Ramban

The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway was closed for traffic for the second consecutive on Tuesday due to a landslide in Ramban district, leaving more than 600 vehicles stranded on the road. The 270-kilometre-long highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country, was blocked by mudslides and shooting stones between Chanderkote and Banihal in the district in Monday. Traffic officials issued an advisory asking people not to travel on the highway. According to them, more than 600 vehicles are stranded at different points of the highway. Men and machines have been deployed to clear the highway, they said. The mughal road, which connects Shopian district of Kashmir with Poonch district of Jammu, was also blocked for traffic due to heavy snowfall, they said. Efforts are on to clear the road of the snow and restore traffic on it, they said.

Himachal Pradesh to have advance warning system to mitigate disasters

In view of the land subsidence in Uttarakhand's Joshimath, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Monday directed for developing an advance warning system to mitigate disasters and improve the disaster management response capacity system. The decision of the chief minister will go a long way in identifying the areas more prone to earthquakes and also help prepare a detailed report of landslides and sinking zones, a government spokesperson said here. The chief minister also felt the need to strengthen the response and awareness system besides preparedness at the institutional and individual level. He also directed to enhance the support being provided to the state electricity board through the State Disaster Response Fund and for the necessary amendment in the State Disaster Relief Manual, the spokesperson added. Sukhu also directed for proper mapping of glaciers through new and advanced technology and conducting a study of the areas more prone to ...

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