The massive flood in the Dhauli Ganga river triggered by a glacial burst in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district on Sunday came as a grim reminder of the Kedarnath deluge of 2013 which led to widespread devastation in the ecologically fragile Himalayan region.
With different agencies showing divergent predictions regarding the southwest monsoon, the central government and states are gearing up to face adversity with various line ministries reportedly being directed to undertake mock drills and hold preparatory meetings. Around 56 per cent of the net cultivable area of the country is rain-fed, accounting for 44 per cent of foodgrain production. The June-September rains contribute around 73 per cent of the annual precipitation.
The exact number of people dead or washed away may never be known, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna said today as estimates of casualties in the worst natural disaster in the state run from several hundreds to several thousands.
It seems that the government is deliberately playing down the role the armed forces have played in the relief of operations. Why is the state government reluctant to do so? Why is it also not ready to accept help from other states, asks Colonel (retd) Anil Athale.
The US said it has provided $ 841 million for tsunami relief and reconstruction, and the American people have contributed more than $ 1.8 billion in private funds.
The Kashmir Valley remained cut-off from rest of the country for the second consecutive day on Saturday, but improvement in weather has raised hopes of early restoration of traffic on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway.
The film's true strength lies in the combined appeal and compelling performances of Emraan Hashmi and Soha Ali Khan.
Kerala on Friday said a tearful goodbye to most of the 23 victims from the state who died in the Kuwait fire tragedy -- one of the biggest incidents to ever affect the state's expatriate community known for their dedication and hard work.
Kerala government has given approval to a five-tier security system for the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple which has crores of rupees of valuables locked up in its vaults.
Notwithstanding fears of a tsunami following a powerful earthquake off Indonesia on Wednesday, the navies of India and the United States carried out their joint exercises off the coast of Chennai.
The aftershocks of the earthquake and Tsunami in Japan will be felt in industries in other parts of Asia and Europe.
A day after an earthquake measuring 8.5 on the Richter scale hit Sumatra in Indonesia, triggering panic among locals who have not forgotten the devastating tsunami of 2004, life is gradually limping back to normal on the island.
A moderate intensity earthquake on Saturday shook the Kashmir Valley but there were no immediate reports of any casualty or damage.
Nivin Pauly is very proud of his latest release, Malayalee From India.
An earthquake measuring 4.0 on the Richter Scale jolted the Kashmir Valley on Wednesday but there were no reports of any casualties or damage to properties.
Dr Rajiv Shah, administrator of the United States Agency for International Development and the highest ranking Indian American in the Barack Obama administration, while speaking on the devastating floods in Pakistan, said, "The scale and scope of this natural disaster is astronomical."
The IMD also issued a red alert in the same 10 districts for August 3 also.
The food security Bill is likely to adopt a three-pronged strategy to ensure food for all, particularly for the most vulnerable sections of the society. The National Advisory Council (NAC) in its initial discussions on the Bill had talked about a universalised scheme.
Three earthquakes on Monday shook Kashmir within an hour but there were no reports of any damage caused anywhere in the valley.
Several kutcha houses, temporary shades were destroyed, while hundreds of trees and many electrical poles were uprooted and roofs of some structures were blown away by the storm.
The papers noted that the 5G network is built on easily accessible and open Internet protocols and it inherits all the vulnerabilities of previous generations which make it vulnerable to cyber-attacks and compromising the security of the entire system.
The forecast represents a 54 per cent fall compared to estimates put out by the trade body in March, and is 78 per cent lower than the $18-billion profit that the industry recorded in 2010.
Thousands of people living in over hundreds of villages in different district of Bihar and Sahebganj district of Jharkhand state in India are facing serious threat to their health due to alarmingly high quantity of arsenic present in the ground water.
Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang, better known as P S Golay, on Friday said that the Himalayan state has incurred damages worth thousands of crores of rupees in the flash flood.
In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former prime minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday accused him of lowering the dignity of public discourse and the gravity of the office of the PM by giving "hateful speeches" during the poll campaign.
'An earthquake of a slightly higher magnitude in the Western Himalayan region is going to be catastrophic -- not just because of the fragility of the region but because of how densely we have occupied it.'
'We moved out just in time. The fire spread so fast.'
The IOC has taken out a $170 million insurance policy to cover total or partial cancellation of the 2004 Olympic Games.
Red Cross will launch a global campaign 'Our World Your Move' to encourage people to participate in humanitarian actions aimed at tackling problems of climate change, conflicts and natural disasters.
Whether it is the blunder over the glaciers or the linking of natural disasters to global warming, the IPCC's credibility has been badly hit. If this encourages laxity over global warming, that will be tragic.
Excerpts from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's speech to the top commanders of the armed forces at a conference in New Delhi.
India on Tuesday announced an additional $ 20 million assistance to Pakistan which is grappling with the worst floods in recent history of the region.
"Whether it is foreign aid, technical assistance or responding to global challenges, none of the three have pursued mercantilist approaches. This determines in many ways the agenda for developing the trilateral relationship," Sen told the Japan Society in New York on Friday, adding that the trilateral interaction did not emerge from a decision to forge a new grouping or alliance.
Dressed in his trademark white 'kurta pyjama', the 40-year-old Congress leader during his five-hour visit tried to pep up the spirits of people recovering from the trauma and empathised with them.
Whether it be natural disasters, animal attacks or acts of violence, some survivors have overcome adversity and lived to tell their stories.
The flash flood affected 25,065 people in four districts - Mangan, Gangtok, Pakyong and Namchi, the report said.
'Modi knows the people here are opposed to this project, but he is using the might of government to push this port down our throats.'
'The Himalayas are the Creator of Life.'
The top 10 failed states in the 2009 list are: Somalia, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Guinea and Pakistan.
Dilip D'Souza has witnessed disasters around the world. However, the sight of devasatation in Leh left him speechless and overwhelmed.
