A cruise ship carrying over 450 people, mostly elderly, capsized because of a cyclone in the murky waters of Asia's longest Yangtze River in China's Hubei province as rescuers on Monday raced against time to find survivors with hundreds missing and at least five dead.
We had prepared a contingency plan for 580 districts, the minister said.
Intense cold wave gripped Kashmir, with Kargil becoming the coldest place this winter.
Three deaths have been reported and there are fears of more fatalities.
The 40-day period marks the harshest phase of the winter in the Kashmir valley.
The intense cold wave conditions accompanied by snowfall have left 24 people dead in Uttarakhand.
19 wards of Srinagar Municipal Corporation, having an electorate of 1.78 lakh, witnessed a turnout of just 2.3 per cent, officials said.
Even as the death toll due to the searing heat wave mounts by the day across India, state governments are struggling to come up with ways to mitigate the suffering. The Municipal Corporation of Ahmedabad may have a lesson or two to offer.
Many towns in Gir Somnath turned into islands as the district has been witnessing heavy rains for the third consecutive day.
'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).'
'How much rain fell on June 16 and 17 is NOT known because the area of Kedarnath is not covered by the Indian Meteorological Department,' M Shashidhar Reddy, vice chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority tells Sheela Bhatt. Because of this, the NDMA will not know "what exactly happened over there, in and around the Kedarnath temple."
He said the country now possesses the capability to strike satellites in outer space with centimetre-level accuracy and precision.
The US Department of Defence has awarded a $284.6 million contract to Lockheed Martin to produce infrared target sight systems for the US Navy and Pakistan, a media report said on Saturday.
Delhi and Leh were among some of the places in northern India which recorded their lowest minimum temperatures so far this winter as the cold gained in intensity in the region.
Mercury plummeted in Kashmir Valley on Thursdayafter a slight respite for few days, dropping further below the freezing point with Kargil recording a new low of minus 15.8 degrees Celsius this season.
Monsoon is expected to cover central and eastern India after Tuesday.
There have been several instances of traders dumping fruits and vegetables outside mandis. Or of farmers dumping produce outside their villages or feeding them to their animals.
Over 200 pilgrims were taken to safety from Badrinath today with the Uttarakhand government saying that only 500 more remained there with adequate food and medical care even as disposal of bodies in affected areas and transportation of relief material posed a fresh challenge.
With the majority of pilgrims evacuated from Badrinath, disposal of bodies lying in affected areas and transportation of relief material to locals in flooded villages on Sunday posed a fresh challenge to authorities in Uttarakhand.
With the flood threat continuing to loom large over the valley, the Army has started the evacuation process in Srinagar as the city experienced fresh rainfall on Tuesday.
Racing against time, rescuers on Sunday waded through tonnes of rubble of flattened homes and buildings in Nepal to look for survivors of the earthquake.
Leh and Kargil towns in Ladakh region recorded the season's coldest night as the cold wave intensified in Jammu and Kashmir after a slight respite for few days.
Rescue work has intensified in Texas with officials launching search operations as desperate residents remain stranded without food and water.
Two persons were killed in Uttar Pradesh's Ballia district as strong winds and thunder showers hit several parts of the state. While one died in a tree fall incident the other was hit by lightning, the police said.
the India Meteorological Department has forecast intermittent rain with heavy to very heavy showers in the city and suburbs and extremely heavy rain at isolated places in next 24 hours.
In an unprecedented measure, the Maharashtra government requested defence officials to arrange airlift of the stranded passengers of the 17412 Mahalaxmi Express.
Simultaneous activation of both Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal low-pressure systems has led to the state receiving an excess 65 per cent rainfall.
The opposition parties vehemently criticised the new 'one nation, one tax' system having four different rates instead of a single rate adopted in some countries including the UK and Singapore.
Four persons, including three members of a family, were feared dead as flash floods triggered by a cloudburst wrecked havoc in Dharampur area of Mandi district, 250 km from Shimla, on Saturday morning, inundating vast areas, washing away vehicles and perishing several heads of cattle.
The IMD has said temperatures in most parts of the country from March to May would be 'above normal'.
July and August are expected to receive 107 per cent and 104 per cent of rainfall
Cold wave tightened its grip on Kashmir Valley ahead of the onset of 'Chillai-Kalan' -- the 40-day harshest winter period -- with the summer capital Srinagar and Leh town recording the coldest night of the season.
Over 2.26 lakh people have been rescued in Jammu and Kashmir so far as the rescue and relief operations in the flood-ravaged state entered 14th day on Monday.
Tamil Nadu government deployed state and national disaster response force teams in Kanyakumari district, which bore the brunt of the rain fury.
Suburban services were disrupted with trains on all the three lines -- western, central and harbour -- running late.
The U.S. economy grew faster than initially thought in the second quarter.
Thousands of emergency rescue teams officials remained on their toes, helping people affected by the deluge. Weather official said parts of state are expected to receive rainfall again.
Temple priest performed a 'purification' ritual for an hour before the doors were opened again.
According to the US Department of Agriculture, rice exports are pegged at 9.3 million tonnes for the 2013-14 marketing year (October-September), slightly lower than 10 million tonnes in the same period last year.
Though General Naravane's visit will not deal with 'impermanent' issues like the changing stands of politicians, it will certainly reinforce the deeper 'permanent' links between the people of Nepal and India. Time will hopefully tackle the present impermanence of the Sino-Nepalese romance, notes Claude Arpi.
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