Inching closer to their goal, rescuers have inserted wide pipes up to 45 metres through the rubble and will have to drill another around 12 metres to reach the 41 workers trapped inside the collapsed tunnel in Silkyara for 10 days, officials said Wednesday afternoon.
The release of water has affected over 1.50 lakh people and damaged 171 houses, he said, adding National Disaster Response Force personnel have been deployed in the area to rescue people.
'It is very likely to move nearly northwards for next few hour and recurve slowly north-northeastwards along Narsapur, Yanam, Kakinada, Tuni and Visakhapatnam coasts during noon to evening on Wednesday and emerge into west central Bay of Bengal off North Andhra Pradesh coasts by night,' the India Meteorological Department said in its national bulletin.
The flood situation affected nearly 26.5 lakh people across 28 districts.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Tuesday gave away a total sum of Rs 98 lakh as relief to families of 14 persons killed in the June 28 building collapse near suburban Porur.
The aircraft C-130J landed in new Delhi with 55 Indian evacuees at around 10.45 pm.
Rescuers on Friday found the body of an engineering student who was among the 25 youth who were swept away in gushing waters of the Beas river on June 8 and with this the bodies of 13 students have been recovered so far.
Drilling at the collapsed Silkyara tunnel to rescue 41 men trapped inside for 12 days was halted again on Friday, officials said.
The incident took place around 7.15 pm on Saturday, Tamil Nadu Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan, who visited the spot near Kanthanchavadi, told reporters.
With better preparedness and efficient planning and execution, toll restricted to a low level. Lesson from 1999 cyclone helped.
Since January this year, there have been 983 incidents of forest fire in the state affecting 1,292 hectares of land, they said.
The CISF has said it was the 'first responder' to rescue passengers on Friday as its Assistant Sub Inspector Ajit Singh was on runway patrol when the Air India Express flight from Dubai with 190 people on board overshot the table top runway, fell into a 35-foot valley and broke into two.
The DG said the maximum of four teams of the NDRF have been positioned in Kutch district and the Gujarat government has done an in-depth evacuation exercise as part of which fishing boats have been anchored, big ships have been sent to the high seas so that they are not affected by the tidal waves, more than 4,000 hoarding have been taken down so that they don't become deadly flying objects as strong winds blow.
India has sent to Turkey two plane-loads of relief materials and medical teams for survivors of the devastating earthquake that killed over 5,000 people.
An Indian Air Force transport carrier 'C-130J Super Hercules' with 20 Odisha Fire Services personnel onboard will provide help to the authorities in the East Jaintia Hills.
India's National Disaster Response Force on Monday began withdrawal of its men from quake-hit Nepal after the country asked foreign rescue teams to end their work.
'Very severe cyclonic storm Biparjoy at 2330 hrs IST of 9th June over east-central Arabian Sea near lat 16.0N & long 67.4E. Likely to intensify further & move north-northeastwards during the next 24hrs,' the IMD said in a tweet.
'We waded through the wet mud into the school, and what we saw were dead bodies strewn all over.' 'We could also see parts of human bodies buried under the wet mud.' 'It was a sight I will never forget in my life. Total devastation everywhere.'
After days of incessant rains, the situation improved in many parts of Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra on Tuesday with water receding in affected areas.
Susngi said there was slight dip in the water level in the mine shaft, but it was not significant enough.
The intensity of Cyclone Phailin on Sunday reduced significantly to 90-100 kilometres per hour at Odisha's Gopalpur where the cyclone hit at a speed of over 200 kmph on Saturday night.
Personnel of NDRF, Fire, Forest and police departments have expanded their search operations to the downstream of a river in their efforts to trace 19 more people who were still missing in the August 7 tragedy near Rajamala.
The Centre on Sunday assured all help and assistance to Bihar for rescue and relief in the wake of emerging situation due to overflow in Kosi following a landslide in Nepal creating an artificial dam on the river and triggering possibility of floods.
Rescue workers pulled out all 41 workers trapped in Uttarakhand's Silkyara tunnel in a multi-agency rescue operation that hovered between hope and despair for 16 days.
The Centre said that there was no legal provision to declare a disaster as a national calamity, amid demands for declaring the floods as a national disaster.
According to the home ministry's National Emergency Response Centre, 138 people have died in Maharashtra, 125 in Kerala, 116 in West Bengal, 52 in Gujarat and 34 in Assam due to the floods and rains.
The very severe cyclonic storm Nilofar has weakened into a severe cyclonic storm ahead of making landfall at the northern Gujarat coast and adjoining Pakistani coast around Naliya by Thursday night.
The flood situation in Assam deteriorated on Thursday with one more person losing his life and nearly 7.18 lakh people in 27 districts remaining affected by the deluge, an official bulletin said.
The district magistrate said that a central team will survey the damage to properties due to the land subsidence and suggest a way forward while coordinating with the local administration in relief and rescue efforts.
The National Disaster Response Force personnel were pressed into service soon after the incident and rescue and search operations were underway, police said.
The home minister held discussions with chief secretary and other state officials on the situation arising due to the forest fire and offered all assistance from the Centre.
Three more bodies were recovered from Beas river on Thursday twelve days after 25 persons, including 24 students from a Hyderabad engineering college, were swept away in the river.
The CM announced ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh each to the next of kins of those killed.
The cyclone is expected to intensify into a very severe cyclonic storm by Tuesday, a home ministry statement said.
The government has asked the general public to call toll free numbers 1070 and 1077 during emergency situations .
The Army, National Disaster Response Force and local rescue teams have been called in for the rescue work, the Kinnaur deputy commissioner said.
The cyclonic depression may have crossed the Tamil Nadu coast on Thursday evening, but the state continues to be battered by heavy rains.
Cyclone Biparjoy made landfall near Jakhau Port in Gujarat on Thursday evening with a wind speed of 115-125 kmph gusting to 140 kmph as heavy rains lashed the coastal region, where several areas plunged into darkness due to power cuts and a large number of trees, electric poles and hoardings got uprooted.
So far, 15 bodies have been recovered from the debris, while 12 persons are still missing.
Three national highways in Kutch, Navsari and Dang districts were blocked due to damage caused by rains. Fifty one state highways and over 400 panchayat roads have also been damaged, state Disaster Management Minister Rajendra Trivedi told reporters.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances