Indian airlines on Wednesday began evacuating stranded people from flood-ravaged Jammu and Kashmir with Air India flying back 270 passengers free, as DGCA asked them to cap total fares including taxes on Srinagar-Delhi and Leh-Delhi sectors at Rs 2,800 and Rs 3,000 respectively.
Multiple teams of the force, with personnel wearing protective gear and helmets, were rushed to the Tapovan power project site from their 1st battalion base in Joshimath and the ITBP mountaineering and skiing institute located nearby in Auli to launch search and rescue works.
A study by an international team of researchers had warned two year ago that the South Lhonak lake in Sikkim may burst in the future and significantly impact the downstream region.
At least 16 people have been killed while 15,000 pilgrims, who were stranded near the Amarnath holy cave in Kashmir due to a flash flood triggered by a cloudburst, have been shifted to the lower base camp in Panjtarni, officials said on Saturday.
Floods triggered by the torrential rain since June 14 have wreaked havoc, inundating a vast swathe of flat land in the south and southwest of the country.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram told reporters after the meeting that the situation in Uttarakhand is better than what it was on Tuesday and Food Minister K V Thomas is taking steps to rush more food grains to the flood-hit Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
Groups of relatives have gathered at the Tapovan tunnel, hoping that their loved ones will emerge alive from its mouth.
It stands at a distance watching soundlessly as multiple teams work to reach those buried under mounds of debris and is sometimes heard breaking into howls of anguish -- a canine sentinel watching the rescue mission in its search for its missing puppies.
More than 500 people were killed, most in their sleep, as tropical storm Washi swelled rivers and triggered flash floods, which devastated a southern Philippine region.
The flood situation in Assam remained grim after fresh heavy rainfall in Meghalaya's Garo hills and Goalpara district as the death toll mounted to 40.
Titan's October-December quarter (Q3) business update claims 22-23 per cent revenue growth in the standalone jewellery sales (excluding bullion sales), implying a 4-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.3 per cent. Store additions also looked healthy, with 21 new Tanishq stores opened in Q3, taking the total count to 466 (+43 in 9 months of FY24) including two in the US and one in Singapore. Titan added 90 stores in Q3, pushing its total retail outlets to 2,949 (including CaratLane).
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi will undertake a yatra to Kedarnath on Thursday, trekking 18 km up into the Uttarkhand mountains to pay obeisance at the temple which faced the brunt of flash-floods two years ago and has since been spruced up.
Rishabh Pant, who hails from Uttarakhand extended condolences to the families
'The terrorists are using better technology to secure their communication.' 'It does appear that excessive reliance on technology led to a weakening of human intelligence.'
A red alert indicates heavy to extremely heavy rains of over 20 cm in 24 hours, while an orange alert means very heavy rains of 6 cm to 20 cm of rain.
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.
As the weather improved in parts of north India, which was pummelled by heavy rains for days, authorities on Wednesday worked on a war footing to rescue stranded tourists, restore vehicular traffic on arterial roads and prevent floodwaters from entering new areas.
The flood-hit religious destinations of Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamunotri and Gangotri, where rescue operations are underway, would again record heavy rains from Thursday, the India Meteorological Department said on Friday. It also predicted "rather heavy showers" in Hemkund Sahib, another religious destination hit by flash floods and heavy rains, from Wednesday.
Top commanders of the Indian Army deliberated on the Russia-Ukraine war and Israel-Hamas conflict at a five-day conclave to draw relevant lessons besides focusing on ways to make the force 'future ready' in line with with emerging contours of threats and challenges.
The restoration work of the Kedarnath shrine, which was destroyed in last year's floods, will be done by the Archaeological Survey of India.
As Kerala gets into the festive mood, police are maintaining tight vigil with the army receiving information that there may be a terror attack in southern parts of the country.
The water level rose above the danger mark in Haridwar and Delhi and the level at Bhakra dam was a foot above the permissible mark.
Months after the devastating flood ruined their life, the people of Poonch are today totally isolated. They feel they have been left unheard, once again.
A flood alert was sounded on Thursday in Srinagar city as River Jhelum was flowing four feet above the danger mark after incessant rain, while 23 villages have been inundated by floods in south Kashmir districts of Anantnag and Kulgam.
It has noted that melting glaciers due to any impact of climate change will not only severely affect the flow in Himalayan river system but will also give rise to natural disasters.
A massive thunderstorm caused flash flooding in Toronto, cutting power to 3,00,000 in the city, shutting down subways, and leaving about 1,400 passengers stranded for hours on a commuter train.
The military's earthquake relief operations in Gujarat, Kashmir and Sikkim, and rescue work during the Ladakh flash floods highlight that it is the only effective disaster response force in the country, says Ajai Shukla
A bench of justices A K Patnaik and Ranjan Gogoi directed the governments to deploy a sufficient number of helicopters to rescue flood-affected people in the area. "We direct as an interim measure that all stranded people be provided immediate relief by the state and district authorities by giving them food, medicines and other essential things including fuel," the bench said.
Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Tuesday said that he had asked the Uttarakhand government not to allow any VIP to land in the flood ravaged areas in the state to pre-empt any disturbance to relief work.
The state has suffered losses of Rs 4,000 crore and the figure is likely to go up as estimates continue to pour in, he said.
More than 150 labourers working in a power project are missing, officials said.
According to the state government, 60,000 tourists have so far been evacuated from the hill state.
Making a statement in the House "regarding an avalanche in Chamoli District of Uttarakhand", the Union minister said these inputs were based on the information received till Monday 5 pm from the state government.
'The problem is that all this reconstruction work is being monitored by the prime minister himself with inputs being provided directly by the PMO so nobody in the state government dare contradict them even if their suggestions are totally contrary to what the ecology of this region requires.'
A portion of the Nanda Devi glacier broke off in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district on Sunday, triggering an avalanche and a deluge in the Alaknanda river system that washed away hydroelectric stations, leaving at least seven people dead and 125 missing who are feared dead.
Nearly 86 lakh people in the state's 32 districts have been affected by heavy rain and subsequent floods this year, bringing life to a screeching halt in many parts.
The IMD also issued a red alert in the same 10 districts for August 3 also.
Over 500 soldiers, 1,000 people and 62 speedboats have been sent for rescue work while more than 10,000 people have been sent to ensure the safety of river banks.
The Kedarnath temple committee has expressed dissatisfaction over the restoration work being carried out by ASI at the shrine which was damaged in last year's flash floods in Uttarakhand, but the government agency has squarely rejected these claims.
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