The Supreme Court on Friday said "a calamity and disaster" as huge as the one witnessed in Jammu and Kashmir floods "deserves national response" and asked the Centre to apprise it on Monday on the urgent steps undertaken to accelerate rescue, relief and rehabilitation operations.
The incident is said to have occurred in the wee hours when a huge mound of earth fell on the 'row houses' and two children and five women were among the deceased, most of whom were plantation workers from neighbouring Tamil Nadu.
Teams of the National Disaster Response Force started landing in Gujarat with the help of the Indian Air Force to undertake preventive evacuation of people living on the west coast, an IAF official said.
Chiplun, Khed and several other towns in Ratnagiri and parts of neighbouring Raigad bore the brunt of the torrential rain and the subsequent floods over the last few days, with several rivers in the region flowing above the danger mark. Although the water level has receded to a large extent in most of the affected parts, the floods have left a trail of large scale damage - from sludge and heaps of mud in the houses and roads to loss of loved ones.
The body has been detected inside the 370-foot-deep coal mine in Meghalaya's East Jaintia Hills district,
The maximum death toll has been reported from Idukki district, where 43 people have lost their lives so far, as per official estimates. 28 deaths were reported in Malappuram and 27 in Thrissur.
An inquiry has been ordered by the Director General of Mines Safety and a high-level committee of experts has been constituted by Coal India to investigate the causes of the accident.
The death toll due to heavy rains earlier this week which created a flood-like situation in north Gujarat and Kutch has reached 40.
After a review meeting held at the Pathanamthitta District Collectorate to assess the situation, Rajan and state health minister Veena George said at a press conference that it has been decided to open the Kakki dam to release around 100-200 cumex water which would increase the water level of Pampa river by around 15 centimetres.
The miners are now feared dead as water from a nearby river has been gushing into the 370-feet-deep pit.
The fire broke out late on Thursday night when 17 people were inside the plant, run by the Telangana State Power Generation Corporation.
'Not only have we rescued 1,700 fishermen but on the morning of November 30, we evacuated 1,044 fishing folk, otherwise the missing numbers would have been much higher.'
Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik had on Tuesday sent a letter to the Election Commission requesting withdrawal of the MCC from all coastal districts to make it easier for the government to handle the impending cyclonic storm "Fani" in the state.
The National Disaster Response Force has deployed its teams in vulnerable areas of Gujarat to deal with cyclonic storm Nilofar that will hit the state's coast on Friday.
Torrential rains in north Gujarat have caused flood in Banaskantha and Patan districts.
Tamil Nadu government deployed state and national disaster response force teams in Kanyakumari district, which bore the brunt of the rain fury.
Out of the total 22 tableaux, 16 were of various states and UTs and six of ministries, departments and the National Disaster Response Force.
Singh, who is in China, said on Twitter that he had spoken to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and assured of all possible help.
Over 20,000 people were evacuated to safer places in these three districts. State capital Mumbai too witnessed water-logging in many areas after overnight rains on Thursday.
An ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh will be given per person to the next of kin of those killed in the floods.
In his monthly Mann ki Baat broadcast, Modi noted that the country was also faced with several natural disasters, including cyclones, landslide and earthquakes, during the pandemic, and said more lives were saved than the past with the Centre, states and local administration coming together to carry out relief and rescue operations.
At least 15 miners were trapped in the 370 foot-deep illegal coal mine in Lumthari village of East Jaintia Hills district since December 13 and all efforts to pump the water out of flooded mine have been in vain.
The impact of the collision was so severe that the bus dragged the auto-rickshaw along with it and both the vehicles fell into a roadside well, the official said.
'Naval Aviation has contributed through numerous humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations during which it has provided relief to fellow citizens like the recently conducted rescue operations off Mumbai during Cyclone Tauktae in May 2021.'
While resting on a bed in state-run J J Hospital, Shamani, who is in his 30s, said he could only recall that he was sleeping in a flat in the ill-fated building and suddenly heard a loud thud.
For the first time in the last 26 years, a shutter of the Cheruthoni Dam was opened on Thursday.
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.
'There's also a possibility of the cyclonic system changing its course, thus avoiding a landfall in Odisha'
Floods triggered by low pressure induced rains wreaked havoc in cyclone-hit Ganjam and other coastal districts of Odisha, leaving 10 persons dead and lakhs marooned as helicopters launched rescue operations on Friday.
Sixteen deaths in rain and flood-related incidents have been reported from western Maharashtra in the last seven days, while the toll in Karnataka rose to five since Sunday.
The situation in the state was 'extremely grave', said Vijayan, who spoke to Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and Home minister, Rajnath Singh, this morning seeking more central assistance for relief operations.
The nation celebrated the 71st Republic Day on Sunday with a grand military parade and exhibition of its history, cultural diversity and strategic weaponry at the Rajpath.
'We have only ourselves to blame.' 'For selfish reasons and greed, we have obstructed many outlets, preventing the water from flowing out, be it rivers, tributaries or small drainage systems.'
The Jammu and Kashmir government on Wednesday paid an ex-gratia relief of Rs 1 lakh to the next of kin of Bhim Singh, a member of the National Disaster Management Force team, who perished in a chopper crash in Uttarakhand while carrying out rescue operations.
The cyclone, according to an IMD report early Sunday, is developing into a severe cyclonic storm over the Bay of Bengal and can potentially become a very severe cyclonic storm in the next 24 hours, S N Pradhan, the chief of NDRF said in New Delhi.
With the cyclone set to make landfall on Wednesday, Maharashtra and Gujarat activated their disaster response mechanism, deploying NDRF teams and evacuating people from areas likely to be hit.
Home Secretary L C Goyal said 72 deaths were reported from the four states of Bihar -- 56, Uttar Pradesh -- 12, West Bengal -- 3 and Rajasthan --1.
The MeT department warned of heavy to very heavy rainfall in Gangetic West Bengal till Saturday, ahead of Durga Puja festivities.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Thursday that at least 72 people have died due to Cyclone Amphan and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit the affected districts and provide help to 'rebuild those areas from scratch'
Maharashtra government on Wednesday approved a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of the victims of landslide at Malin village in Pune district, as the toll in the July 30 disaster has reached 153.
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