Banerjee said the state is targeting to shift at least 10 lakh people to safer places in a bid to avoid any loss of life.
The Hyderabad-based Humane Society International/India has set up an emergency helpline to coordinate animal rescue throughout Kerala. It is collaborating with Compassion Unlimited Plus Action, based in Bangalore, for rescue efforts in Karnataka's hill district of Coorg.
The Centre has assured all help to Odisha and Andhra Pradesh where a "very severe" cyclone is expected to hit on Saturday and sent nearly 500 personnel of National Disaster Response Force for relief and rescue operations.
Trade analyst Vinod Mirani gives us the weekly verdict.
While man and a woman were reported killed when trees came crashing down on them in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, a 13-year-old girl died in a similar incident in adjoining Howrah. No casualties have been reported from Odisha yet.
'Tens of millions will be working from home for months at a time, which means the smartest brains in business will be focussed on creating more efficient WFH processes,' predicts Devangshu Datta.
'It affects our economy, it is very important in many ways.' 'So we have to be the foremost experts in the world on the monsoon.' 'But the best minds in India have not devoted their time to the study of monsoon and they have followed the fashions of the West.'
An estimated 30,000 people along coastal areas will be moved to safer places in Kutch district of Gujarat from Wednesday as the very severe cyclonic storm Nilofar hurtles towards the state and slams it by November 1 afternoon.
Rain-induced flash floods crippled life on Wednesday for the second time in the past four days.
Bihar government has sounded alert in 28 flood-prone districts following a warning issued by Indian Meteorological Department in the wake of Cyclone Phailin that pounded Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
The Ganga has crossed the danger mark in West Bengal, Bihar and neighbouring districts of Uttar Pradesh where Yamuna river is also in spate, while heavy rainfall has created a flood-like situation in some parts of Rajasthan where six persons have died so far.
We have our own problems for sure and they are not trivial, but for now, our economy is in not too bad a shape, our politics is as personality-driven and authoritarian as that of most countries in the world. We must make the best of what we have and not be excessively unhappy looking at the grass on the other side of the septic tank which may not be greener after all!, observes Shreekant Sambrani.
'What would have happened if people had not thrown garbage and plastics everywhere? Well the answer is there would have been no waterlogging in the city.'
Predicting that the Indian IT industry was likely to add two lakh employees this year, Nasscom president Kiran Karnik on Tuesday said the association was working on the image of BPO industry and would create a data base of people in the industry.
In the first of a two-part series, Business Standard examines the impact of the upcoming summer on agriculture and drinking water supply.
'Each cyclone has its own identity and its own behaviour based on the environmental conditions in the ocean and in the atmosphere.'
It won't be wise old Modi versus an immature Pappu any longer. It will be Modi versus a whole collection of experienced Opposition leaders, predicts Vir Sanghvi.
The hit to economic activity will be mostly confined to the first quarter. And a third wave, if it materialises, is unlikely to be hugely disruptive for the economy, predicts T T Ram Mohan.
Harvey is the most powerful hurricane to hit the United States mainland in 12 years on Saturday made landfall in central Texas coast with winds of 195 kmph.
On the grounds of freedom of expression alone, astrology cannot be banned; it also provides a legal livelihood to lots of people.
The death toll in the US due to coronavirus on Sunday crossed 9,500, which is three times more than the number of people who died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
IBM has chosen Surat, Allahabad and Vizag among 16 global locations for its smart cities programme.
Heavy rains and flooding have killed at least 110 people and affected over three lakh in many parts of Pakistan, the country's disaster management authority said on Monday.
'We have the technical expertise, and international collaborations. We also have robust real-time data. We are a university of pandemic management. If the ministry neglects the role of NCDC, it is the loss of the country'
Trump blamed Democrats and a few Senators from his own party for the collapse of the latest Republican drive to repeal Obamacare.
'If a major earthquake of the kind that hit Nepal hits us in Delhi, 35 per cent of our homes would be destroyed.'
Darryl D' Monte, the distinguished enviromental journalist, discusses how the media covers floods in Mumbai or Texas, but ignores Assam or Bangladesh.
IAF officers say they are keen to serve justice quickly and make an example of those found guilty of operational lapses.
'It is perplexing to see the leader of the First World with a first rate medical infrastructure come up short on its foresight to handle the pandemic,' notes Group Captain Murli Menon (retd).
Swirling waters inundated 12 districts in the state.
The Mumbai civic body asked all schools to remain shut and to ensure that the students were sent back home safely.
Whether the third wave will ravage us depends on the pace of vaccinations, careful and calibrated opening up of establishments, and a strategy to contain the spread in specific states or pockets.
For two decades the US paid in blood and blood money for dependence on Pakistan to carry out one president's boast. Now, having been defeated by its proxies, another president will go into Rawalpindi's embrace to satisfy his constituents, predicts Shekhar Gupta.
The next two days are very crucial in terms of rescuing the maximum number of pilgrims and tourists stranded in rain-hit Uttarakhand as heavy showers may come anytime, a senior official said.
The hits and misses of the week.
While the IMD had forecast a 'normal' monsoon for the entire season, Skymet stated that rain this year would be 'below normal', report Sanjeeb Mukherjee and Sahil Makkar.
'He (Modi) thinks as if he is a tiger, and the only one who is right,' Mamata said.
