According to a 2020 study Analysis of bridge failures in India from 1977 to 2017, as many as "2,130 bridges" -- excluding culverts and pedestrian bridges -- have collapsed during various phases of construction in the last four decades.
Uttarakhand minister Satpal Maharaj said an inquiry will be conducted to find out how multi-storey buildings were allowed to be constructed in Joshimath which has been sinking for at least 20 years.
As the election approaches, the earthquake survivors and the scientists urge political parties to take note of warning signs before it's too late.
Himanshu Thakkar and Parineeta Dandekar reveal how government actions and neglect created such massive disaster from a natural phenomenon in Uttarakhand.
The Union Budget 2025-26 on Saturday allocated Rs 2,33,210.68 crore to the Ministry of Home Affairs with the majority of the fund -- Rs 1,60,391.06 crore -- being given to central police forces like Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF) and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) which are responsible for internal security, border guarding and security of vital installations.
'It was a disaster on his part to give an oral remark which allowed ascertainment of the religious character of places of worship.' 'This disrupted the social harmony of the country.'
It seems in the geopolitics of the 21st century, we can see the subcontinent acting as one geopolitical entity to secure its economic interests. Key to this transformation is a strong India that is pre-eminent but not dominant, notes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'Above 2,000 metres the gradient of the Himalayas is very steep and if you build any infrastructure (roads, dams, hydro power projects) in these regions, it will not be able to sustain these events (the onslaught of debris that comes down with great speeds).'
The National Security Strategy document should flag all major issues concerning security strategy and provide guidelines to concerned departments to work out suitable action plans. Since the global and regional geopolitical canvas is dynamic, the NSS document should be deliberated at length before formulation and should be reviewed periodically, recommends Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
'I don't know of any happy moment in my life which has helped me to grow, whereas pain has always been a means to evolve.'
AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said that the decision that Kejriwal should continue to be the chief minister even after being jailed was that of the people of Delhi.
Te Congress slammed the Centre's order, alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to politicise employees on an ideological basis.
'We condemn recent illicit missile launches in the region that violate UN Security Council resolutions. We express serious concern over recent dangerous and aggressive actions in the maritime domain. We seek a region where no country dominates and no country is dominated one where all countries are free from coercion, and can exercise their agency to determine their futures,' the declaration said.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday termed as 'baseless', Union Home Minister Amit Shah's claim that the state government did not heed the Centre's warning regarding a possible natural calamity in Wayanad due to heavy rains.
After making landfall near Puducherry on November 30, Cyclone Fengal weakened on Sunday, but torrential downpour under its influence paralysed the union territory, with the Army stepping in to evacuate stranded persons in inundated streets.
'You have to respect nature. You won't respect nature unless you see nature's fury.'
The 2,268-kg GISAT-1 was originally slated to be launched from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh's Nellore district, about 100 kms north of Chennai, on March 5 last year but was postponed a day before the blast-off due to technical reasons.
More than 4.5 lakh pilgrims paid their obeisance at the natural ice Shiva Lingam formation inside the cave shrine last year.
We the people are left in the wind, waiting on the whims of an unengaged president and an oligarch with a nearly bottomless wallet, observes Sree Sreenivasan.
Two army personnel and 12 civilians are still unaccounted for in the worst natural disaster to have hit the northeastern state in recent times.
Uttam Ghosh offers his take on the Kerala floods and the Centre's relief response.
Locals hold gradual land subsidence responsible for the fissures and attribute it to the widening of the national highway, violation of norms in construction works related to mandi parishad, erosion caused by the Pindar river and unsystematic flushing out of rainwater.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday held wide-ranging talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov focusing on the Ukraine conflict, bilateral ties and issues relating to the G20 foreign ministers' meeting.
'It was specifically mentioned in the Gadgil Committee report that this particular area where the colossal landside happened now should be in the Environmentally Sensitive Area under Zone 1.' 'Zone 1 is the most important and ecologically sensitive area, and that it has to be protected entirely.' 'At least 90% of the Wayanad disaster is man-made.'
'The link between global warming and weird, extreme weather events is being better understood every year.' 'India is particularly at risk from such events.' 'Indian communities and urban centres don't have the resilience needed to survive such disasters,' says Mihir S Sharma.
US envoy Eric Garcetti on Thursday said he respects that India likes its "strategic autonomy", but in times of conflict, there is no such thing as strategic autonomy, even as he pitched for forging a stronger partnership between New Delhi and Washington.
With better preparedness and efficient planning and execution, toll restricted to a low level. Lesson from 1999 cyclone helped.
'Except that the population was much less.' 'I remember my uncle and family moving away from the base of a hill whenever it rained for more than a couple of days without a dry day in between.' 'Perhaps the older generations knew if it rained for more than a certain time, they must pack up to a camp or to a relative.' 'As some of the interviews of the survivors on the Malayalam television channels show, the elderly people had a premonition a tragedy would happen, and those who acted on those premonitions survived.'
India on Saturday offered to help south-east Asian nations in the management of natural disasters by sharing satellite data for the region and launching small satellites built by them. "We would be ready to share satellite data for management of natural disasters, launch small satellites and scientific instruments and payloads for experiments in remote sensing and communication for space agencies and academic institutions in ASEAN countries," PM Manmohan Singh said.
All armed forces including the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and Indian Coast Guard have made necessary preparation to provide assistance to the local people of Gujarat.
Year by year, our cities remain defeated in the face of weather conditions, costing us time, money, resources and often lives, observe Amit Kapoor and Bibek Debroy.
Micro Technologies India Ltd on Tuesday said it has launched a global disaster reduction IT product, which instantaneously sends alerts about the occurrence of any natural or man made disasters.
"Based on this consensus, the process of disengagement is almost complete. Our efforts will be to take the matter beyond disengagement; but for that, we will have to wait a little longer," he added.
The move to declare those who continue to be missing in the flash flood as presumed dead has been initiated to expedite the process of distribution of compensation among the affected families, he said.
The Congress rebels are seeking to install a person of their choice as the new chief minister of the state.
Aizawl has been cut off from the rest of the country due to a landslide on National Highway 6 at Hunthar.
The nature of war and its purpose remains unchanged. The change is in the character of war in terms of a man-machine mix, domination of sensors and certain automation of the tactics and methods of war, points out Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The Odisha government told the assembly over 40,000 workers migrated from the state last year, with the highest number -- 26,151 -- from Balangir.
What should you do in case of a chemial attack, a tear gas attack or a terrorist attack? How should you protect yourself and your family in case of a natural calamity: be it floods, earthquake or a tsunami? What precautionary steps you should take if there is -- God forbid -- a war between Indian and Pakistan tomorrow?
A decade after a massive tsunami triggered by an earthquake smashed the coastline of around 14 nations; India on Friday announced a $1 million (around Rs 6 crore) contribution to a United Nations fund for strengthening early warning systems for natural disasters.
