Flash floods ravaged Dharali, around 264 km from Chamoli, burying half of the mountain village in a fast-flowing mudslide of slush, rubble, and water.
Finance ministers of states demanded an increase in allocation under 50-year interest-free loan scheme, while fiscally stressed states like Punjab and Kerala pitched for a special package and borrowing flexibility, sources said on Friday. In a pre-budget meeting with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, states have also urged for higher borrowing limits to support fiscal activities, besides additional funds for Jal Jeevan Mission.
In an order, deputy commissioner of Srinagar Mohammad Aijaz directed those having drone cameras or other similar kinds of unmanned aerial vehicles to deposit them in local police stations.
Rescue operations are in full swing in Uttarakhand where the death toll in the rain and floods has gone up to 150 as thousands of pilgrims still remained stranded.
Mihir Bhatt, founder of the All India Disaster Mitigation Institute, a community-based, action research and advocacy organisation engaged in disaster risk management, tells Vicky Nanjappa that India needs to start learning from its flood experiences and innovating for future responses.
Even as nature's fury is causing multitude of disasters in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, the Centre is yet to appoint head of the specialised 10,000- personnel strong NDRF, the mainstay for disaster mitigation and rescue operations in the country.
Mihir Bhat, fellow at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative who is also the director of the All India Disaster Mitigation Institute, discusses with Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa about what the National Integration Council should focus on.
"This is very, very shocking! The images are very dramatic on television," says Mihir Bhatt, managing director of the All India Disaster Mitigation Institute, on seeing the images of Tsunami-ravaged Japan.
Raising the pitch for concerted and joint fight against terrorism, India on Wednesday pressed for 'cooperative regional approaches' to defeat the scourge and early adoption by the United Nations of an international convention against terror.
Speaking at the national conference on 'Safe transportation of hazardous, dangerous goods through land, air, sea and pipelines in Ahmedabad on Monday, member of the NDMA J R Bharadwaj said that there was a gap between disaster mitigation and preparedness. "We have all the rules and regulation in place for crisis management, but the main problem lies in its implementation," Bharadwaj said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday reviewed the post-cyclone situation and damages caused by Cyclone Yaas in the state at a meeting in Bhubaneswar where Odisha government demanded long term solutions to mitigate problems of repeated cyclones and provision of disaster resilient power systems.
Water level of the river Kali has been continuously rising and reached the danger level.
The President has given his assent to the Disaster Management Bill.
The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Centre to release funds for MNREGA and to pay compensation to farmers in drought-affected areas.
HUDCO has floated a special loan scheme for rehabilitation efforts in the states affected by the devastating tsunami waves, setting aside a fund of Rs 2000 crore (Rs 20 billion) for lending at a rate of 6.5 per cent.
Three more bodies were recovered from the debris in the cloudburst-hit villages of Pithoragarh, raising the death toll in rain-related incidents in the state to 18 while searches were on for as many missing people by the army, para-military and police personnel.
The court also directed that the NDRF should be trained and equipped to tackle the drought-like situation.
While a maximum of 21 people died in Puri, four deaths each were reported from Mayurbhanj and Jajpur, and three each in Cuttack and Kendrapara.
At least 34 people were killed during Cyclone Fani, which barrelled through coastal Odisha on Friday last, causing widespread destruction and leaving hundreds grappling with water shortage and power cut.
On till February 21, the 'Surya Kiran' series of exercises are aimed at enhancing inter-operability between the Indian and the Nepalese Army units in jungle warfare and counter terrorism operations in the mountainous terrain. The training also focuses on humanitarian aid and disaster relief, including medical and aviation support.
'Evacuation' has been key to disaster management in Odisha. The aim is to achieve zero casualty.
Kerala Revenue Minister E Chandrasekharan made the announcement in the assembly while replying to a notice seeking adjournment motion moved by Congress-led UDF opposition on the serious situation prevailing in the state due to the sharp decrease in rainfall.
The apex court urged the central government to update the drought management manual by December 31.
At least 50 major landslides occurred in just four road stretches in calamity-torn Uttarakhand, where hundreds of pilgrims are feared to have perished in flash floods, an official said.
Poor land-use planning, indiscriminate approvals of building plans and the absence of disaster-risk assessment in urban design have resulted in what experts term concentrated concretization, predisposing cities to disaster risks
Meanwhile, the administration claimed it was fully prepared to deal with fresh fires in case they break out anywhere in the state due to a change in the weather.
He said India wanted growth, development and peace in the region and was keen to utilise technology to pursue this goal for the shared prosperity.
The Odisha government is preparing for Cyclone Phailin -- which is expected to hit the east coast on Saturday evening -- on a war footing.
Important for Chinese President Xi Jinping will be Zhao's discussions on the issues of Tibet and the Dalai Lama and his assessment of the likely results of India's coming national elections, notes former senior RA&W officer and China expert Jayadeva Ranade.
With the focus now shifting from disaster mitigation of cyclone to flood relief, the defence ministry on Monday said it has pressed four helicopters into service to evacuate the marooned local population as well as to drop relief materials to Phailin hit areas.
Mount Agung has been hurling clouds of white and dark grey ash nearly 10,000 feet into the atmosphere since the weekend and lava is welling up in the crater.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Monday held talks at Hyderabad House
The successful effort to combat Cyclone Phailin threatens to put disaster mitigation, and a fundamental overhaul of how disaster management in India is structured, on the back-burner, says Anand Sarkar.
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