Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has directed officials to strengthen regular monitoring and safety measures for 13 identified 'sensitive' glacial lakes in the state, citing potential risks in hilly regions.
Over 130 Indian nationals, including Kailash Manasarovar Yatra pilgrims and tourists, are missing or stranded in Nepal following devastating flash floods that have cut off central districts and disrupted communication links. Indian states and the embassy in Kathmandu have launched helplines to assist those affected.
The administration has sounded a high alert in Maharajganj and Kushinagar districts of Uttar Pradesh, while stepping up the monitoring of the Gandak and other water bodies downstream of rivers in Nepal, following devastating flash floods in the neighbouring country that have killed more than 350 people and left thousands missing.
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.
A senior cryosphere specialist has warned of a potential secondary flash flood in Nepal due to debris from an ice-rock avalanche accumulating at a river confluence, creating a temporary dam that is collecting water.
Following devastating flash floods in Nepal, experts are calling for systematic scientific assessments of glaciers to understand and mitigate hazards, alongside the development of a robust land use policy for the Himalayan region. The floods, which killed over 460 people and left thousands missing, are believed to be linked to climate change impacts on glaciers and permafrost.
'There needs to be a monitoring of glaciers in high altitude areas and one needs to check regularly how geological changes are taking place.' 'We can mitigate that by regular monitoring but unfortunately, hardly any monitoring is happening.' 'And without monitoring those higher altitudes of Himalayas, people are suffering.'
A devastating flashflood in the Kheer Ganga river on August 5 demolished nearly half of Dharali -- the key stopover en route to Gangotri with many hotels and homestays, and neighbouring Harsil, where an Army camp bore the brunt of the flood fury, barely giving time to the victims to run to safety.
Terming it a "very sorry state of affairs", the apex court said the state was just trying to find some excuse or the other.
A preliminary inquiry suggests electric firecrackers caused a devastating nightclub fire in Goa, resulting in 25 deaths. The incident has exposed illegalities and lax enforcement of safety rules.
Authorities continue evacuating stranded pilgrims from areas around Dharali village in Uttarkashi, focusing on air rescue and relief operations due to damaged roads. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami is overseeing the efforts, with central government support.
Forty-one Border Road Organisation labourers working to clear snow near the high altitude border village of Mana in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district were trapped under an avalanche on Friday.
Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde led the nation in paying tributes to the twenty bravehearts, who died in Tuesday's chopper crash while rescuing stranded people in flood-ravaged Uttarakhand.
The avalanche hit the BRO camp between Mana and Badrinath between 5:30 am and 6 am on Friday, burying the workers inside eight containers and a shed, according to the Army.
The statements on Joshimath are creating confusion not only among affected residents but also among citizens of the country.
A large Indian Air Force helicopter on Tuesday crashed during rescue operations near Gaurikund in rain-ravaged Uttarakhand, killing eight persons onboard, including five crewmembers.
The recent tragedy confirms the view of humanitarian aid as a political weapon
Twelve people, including three of a family, were killed and six injured in heavy overnight rains that triggered flooding and house collapse as several rivers swelled in Uttarakhand, officials said on Thursday.
A Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Right to Information activist on Saturday accused the Harish Rawat government of paying Rs 47.19 lakh out of disaster relief funds to a firm, in which singer Kailash Kher has a stake, for a tourism video featuring cricketer Virat Kohli.
After chairing an emergency meeting with senior officials to discuss the situation, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that heli services on the Char Dham route will remain suspended for two days, as the weather is bad and the safety of the passengers is the government's top priority.
The decision was taken in a high-level review meeting chaired by principal secretary to prime minister PK Mishra.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Monday visited the Silkyara-Barkot tunnel site for a review of the rescue operations being carried out there to evacuate 40 labourers trapped inside since Sunday morning following its partial collapse.
The NDMA member further stated that the health conditions of the rescued workers will be monitored for the next 48 to 72 hours.
A total of 1,350 people have been evacuated from Badrinath while over 3,500 remain untraced in flood-hit Uttarakhand, claimed the National Disaster Management Authority even as a United Nations agency estimated that the number of missing could be over 11,000.
The bodies of the last four of the trapped labourers were pulled out from the site of the avalanche-hit Border Roads Organisation (BRO) camp in Chamoli on Sunday, taking the death toll to eight as authorities ended the nearly 60-hour rescue operation.
Rat-hole mining may be illegal but the talent and experience of rat-hole miners were used in the rescue operation to save the 41 workers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel, a National Disaster Management Authority member said on Tuesday.
Orissa learnt its lessons from previous cyclones, particularly the 1999 super cyclone, whereas Uttarakhand has failed to do so from any of the previous natural calamities that hit the state, says Dinesh C Sharma.
Incessant rains lashed Uttarakhand for the second consecutive day on Monday, prompting the authorities to advise Chardham pilgrims not to proceed to the Himalayan temples till the weather improves.
According to the NDMA's recent data, rains and floods had affected 4,200 villages in Uttarakhand besides damaging 2,397 houses and 194 bridges.
Many in the specialised force feel they are not being treated on par with those in the armed forces. Sahil Makkar reports
The India meteorological department said heatwave conditions will persist for at least two more days.
Rudraprayag District Disaster Management Officer Nandan Singh Rajwar told PTI that the accident took place above the forests of Gaurikund amid poor visibility due to bad weather.
The weather office on Monday forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall over the next three days over some parts of Uttarakhand, which is still recovering from a deluge last week that is feared to have taken over 1,000 lives.
The labourers, who are said to be of Nepali origin, were engaged in the construction of a hotel.
National Disaster Management Authority Vice Chairman M Shashidhar Reddy talks to Sheela Bhatt about the scale and magnitude of the disaster that struck Uttarakhand
An accurate early warning system that correlates rainfall and the potential for landslides. That is the imperative, say experts as rains create havoc in hills across India and the toll mounts in Kerala's Wayanad slopes where landslides buried entire homesteads and possibly hundreds of people.
The number of houses that have developed cracks has now risen to 826 out of which 165 are in the "unsafe zone", a bulletin from the Disaster Management Authority said.
Hotels Malari Inn and Mount View, which have developed more cracks, will be demolished on Tuesday.
According to the poll panel, election campaign can now be conducted between 6 am and 10 pm instead of earlier 8 am to 8 pm.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday constituted a Cabinet committee to oversee reconstruction and rehabilitation in flood-ravaged Uttarakhand.
