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[VIDEOS] Worldwide natural disasters thread

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MenInG

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At least 107 people died from lightning strikes in northern and eastern India, officials said, during the early stages of the annual monsoon season.

Some 83 people were killed in the impoverished eastern state of Bihar after being struck by lightning, and another 24 died in northern Uttar Pradesh state on Thursday. Dozens more were injured, officials said.

Lightning strikes during the June-September annual monsoon are fairly common in India.

But Bihar's Disaster Management Minister Lakshmeshwar Rai told the AFP news agency that this was one of the highest daily tolls from lightning the state had recorded in recent years.

More than half of the deaths were from the flood-prone northern and eastern districts of Bihar, he added.

Rai warned the death toll could rise further as his government was still waiting on casualty reports from the interior parts of the state.

Heavy rain is forecast to hit Bihar on Friday and Saturday, according to the local India Meteorological Department office.

In neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, most of the deaths were reported in Deoria district close to the Nepal border, and the holy city of Prayagraj, authorities said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi late on Thursday tweeted his condolences to the victims' families, adding that both state governments were carrying out urgent relief work.

More than 2,300 people were killed by lightning in India in 2018 according to the National Crime Records Bureau, the most recent figures available.

The monsoon is crucial to replenishing water supplies in South Asia, but also causes widespread death and destruction across the region each year.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...soon-storms-batter-india-200625105333400.html
 
Wow!

Too many deaths from lightning. Can't they wear some type of protective clothes?
 
Must be terrifying - never thought lightning was so dangerous!
 
26 killed in lightning strikes in West Bengal

At least 26 persons were killed in lightning strikes in various parts of West Bengal on Monday, a state disaster management official said.

At least 26 persons were killed in lightning strikes in various parts of West Bengal on Monday, a state disaster management official said. As many as Eleven people died in Hooghly district, nine in Murshidabad and two people died each in Bankura, East Midnapore, and West Midnapore districts respectively.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the deaths and approved an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for the next of kin of those killed and Rs 50,000 for the injured.

In a tweet, Modi said, "My thoughts are with all those who lost their near and dear ones due to lightning in parts of West Bengal. May the injured recover at the earliest."

The Prime Minister's Office said in a tweet, "PM [MENTION=140582]Naren[/MENTION]dramodi has approved an ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh each from the PMNRF for the next of kin of those who have lost their lives due to lightning in various parts of West Bengal. Rs. 50,000 would be given to the injured."

Union Home Minister Amit Shah also condoled the deaths due to lightning strikes and prayed for the speedy recovery of those who were injured.

Thunderstorms with lightning and gusty wind occurred in several districts of south Bengal in the evening after a sweltering day, the Met department said.

Purba Medinipur, South 24 Parganas, Kolkata, Hooghly, Howrah, Murshidabad, Purulia, Bankura and Nadia experienced thunderstorms as pre-monsoon showers occurred in several places of these districts.

Kolkata, which recorded a high of 37.7 degrees Celsius during the day, received 12 mm of rainfall in the evening, the weather office said.

A squall passed over the Alipore observatory in the city at 4.25 pm from the northwesterly direction with the highest gust of 59 kmph and it lasted for two minutes, it said.

The weather office forecast a generally cloudy sky in Kolkata and neighbourhood on Tuesday with the possibility of rain or thundershowers.

With the monsoon having set in north Bengal, heavy to very heavy rain is likely to occur in the sub-Himalayan districts of Darjeeling and Alipurduar, and heavy rain is expected in Coochbehar, Kalimpong and Jalpaiguri till Wednesday morning, it said.

https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/west-bengal-lightning-strikes-death-toll-murshidabad-bankura-east-midnapore-west-midnapore-709971
 
A lightning strike killed at least 16 people and injured many more in Jaipur in northern India on Sunday.

The victims were taking selfies in the rain on top of a watch tower at the city's 12th Century Amer Fort, a popular tourist attraction.

Dozens have also died in lightning strikes in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh states.

Lightning strikes kill some 2,000 Indians on average every year, according to official data.

A senior police officer told the media that most of the people among the dead at the fort's tower were young.

Twenty-seven people were on the tower and the wall of the fort when the incident happened and some reportedly jumped to the ground.

Sunday alone saw nine more deaths from lightning strikes reported across Rajasthan state where Jaipur is located, according to local media reports.

At least 41 people - mostly women and children - were reportedly killed in Uttar Pradesh state. The highest toll of 14 was recorded in the city of Allahabad (also known as Prayagraj).

Two men, who were taking shelter under a tree, died on the spot after they were struck by lightning in Firozabad city. The remaining deaths occurred in several districts across the state.

At least seven died in Madhya Pradesh. Experts say casualty numbers are high in the two states because a large number of people work outdoors in agriculture and construction.

The chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi have announced compensation for the families of those who died.

India's monsoon season, which sees heavy rains, typically lasts from June to September.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has said that deaths by lightning strikes have doubled in the country since the 1960s - one of the reasons they cited was the climate crisis.

The data says lightning incidents have increased by 30%-40% since the early- to mid-1990s. In 2018 the southern state of Andhra Pradesh recorded 36,749 lightning strikes in just 13 hours. More than 100 people died in two states in June last year in lightening-related incidents.

Officials say they are more common in areas with thinner tree cover, leaving people vulnerable to being struck.

BBC
 
Kentucky tornadoes: up to 100 feared dead in historic US storms

Amid more than 20 tornadoes that caused devastation across central and southern states, one may be the longest in US history


Rescuers worked into the night searching for survivors after what could be the longest tornado in US history left a trail of destruction from Arkansas to Kentucky, part of a vast stormfront that is believed to have killed up to 100 people.

Kentucky governor Andy Beshear said the path of devastation was about 227 miles (365km) long, which, if confirmed, would surpass the 218-mile Tri-State tornado in 1925, which killed at least 695 people and destroyed 15,000 homes across Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.

Friday night’s storm was all the more unusual because it came in December, when colder weather normally limits tornadoes, said Victor Gensini, an extreme weather researcher at Northern Illinois University.

An aerial view of the destruction in Mayfield, Kentucky, after a tornado ripped through the town.
‘My ears started popping’: survivors recall terrifying tornado experiences
Read more
On Saturday, at least five central and southern US states reported deaths after what president Joe Biden said was “likely to be one of the largest tornado outbreaks in our history”, with an estimated 22 tornadoes touching down.

Hardest hit was Kentucky, where Beshear said a death toll of more than 70 “may, in fact exceed 100 before the day is done”.

“The level of devastation is unlike anything that I have ever seen,” he said.

Many of the deaths came in a candle factory in the city of Mayfield, where about 110 employees were working the night shift when a tornado roared through, destroying the building. Jeremy Creason, emergency services chief for the city of 10,000, described how rescuers had to, at times, “crawl over casualties to get to live victims”.

Beshear said: “I pray that there will be another rescue. I pray that there will be another one or two.”

The wreckage of a candle factory in the Kentucky city of Mayfield after a tornado tore through it.
The wreckage of a candle factory in the Kentucky city of Mayfield after a tornado tore through it. Photograph: Cheney Orr/Reuters
Elsewhere, the death toll from multiple tornadoes included six people in Illinois, where an Amazon depot was hit; four in Tennessee; two in Arkansas, where a nursing home was destroyed; and two in Missouri.
Click to expand...
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/12/kentucky-tornadoes-up-to-100-feared-dead-in-historic-us-storms
Barely believable images resembling a carpet bombing. Devastating scenes.
 
Saudi Arabia's west coast city of Jeddah received 965mm of rainfall in six hours on Thursday, as turbulent weather across the country killed at least two people, authorities said.

Thursday's rains were at least 15 times the average annual rainfall for Jeddah, according to some estimates.

Unusual scenes were posted on local media including a video of a boat purportedly belonging to the Civil Defence, transporting people who became marooned when roads were submerged.

“I tried going to work but saw loads of accidents and you can see the emergency cars on the streets. People just left their cars. which were half flooded with water, and started walking, the streets are flooded,” said Ali Harbi, a Saudi resident in Jeddah.

Some flights at King Abdulaziz Airport were delayed.

Jeddah's health authorities denied rumours that the rainfall had caused disruption to medical services.

"Water seeped into some of the facilities in King Abdulaziz city in Jeddah and the situation was dealt with according to the emergency plan in place," the Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs said in a statement.

"Medical care services were unaffected and no injuries were reported."

More rainfall is expected on Friday as Jeddah experiences the "highest ever levels of rainfall since 2009", National Centre for Meteorology spokesman Hussein Al Qahtani said.

https://www.thenationalnews.com/gul...cords-15-times-average-rainfall-in-six-hours/
 
Italy Declares State Of Emergency After Landslide Hits Island Of Ischia

Casamicciola Terme, Italy: Italy's government declared a state of emergency on Sunday after a landslide on the southern island of Ischia killed at least one person and left a dozen missing.

A wave of mud and debris hit the small town of Casamicciola Terme early Saturday morning, engulfing at least one house and sweeping cars down to the sea, local media and emergency services said.

A first tranche of two million euros relief funds was released at the end of an emergency cabinet meeting which declared the state of emergency, said Minister for Civil Protection Nello Musumeci.

More than 200 rescuers are still searching for a dozen missing people, while hundreds of volunteers, and others, up to their knees in mud, are busy cleaning the streets of the town.

Wreckage of cars and buses crushed by the mudslide could be seen and boulders were scattered around as excavators sought to free up access to homes, cars and shops.

Rescuers had recovered the body of a 31-year-old woman, according to Italian news agency AGI.

"It's a situation that hurts us, if only for the people who disappeared under the mountain. Here it's an island and even if we don't really know everyone, it's almost that," Salvatore Lorini, 45, told AFP.

"The mountain came down, there was devastation of shops, cars, hotels and that was already happening nine years ago. Now I am cleaning my mother-in-law's shop," he said.

The landslide was caused by a lack of maintenance and prevention "because nature is nature, there was an earthquake, but a bit of prevention" could have saved lives, said Mr Lorini.

The peninsula, off Naples, is no stranger to states of emergency following earthquakes, volcanic eruptions or severe weather.

Casamicciola Terme, a spa resort of 8,000 inhabitants in winter on the lush island of Ischia, near Capri, was hit by an earthquake in 2017 that killed two people.

It was completely destroyed by a much more powerful earthquake at the end of the 19th century.

NDTV
 
Indonesia Raises Alert, Evacuates Residents After Volcano Erupts

Jakarta: A volcano erupted in Indonesia on Sunday spewing a cloud of ash 15 km into the sky and forcing the evacuation of nearly 2,000 people, authorities said, as they issued their highest warning for the area in the east of Java island.

There were no immediate reports of any casualties from the eruption of the Semeru volcano and Indonesia's transport ministry said that there was no impact on air travel but notices had been sent to two regional airports for vigilance.

"Most roads have been closed since this morning and now it is raining volcanic ash and it has covered the view of the mountain," community volunteer Bayu Deny Alfianto told Reuters by telephone from near the volcano.

Semeru, the tallest mountain on Java, erupted last year killing more than 50 people and displacing thousands.

Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency (BNPB) said 1,979 people had been moved to 11 shelters and authorities had distributed masks to residents. The eruption began at 2:46 a.m. (1946 GMT on Saturday) and rescue, search and evacuation efforts were going on.

The volcano's plume of ash reached a height of 50,000 feet (15 km), said Japan's Meteorology Agency, which had initially been on alert for the possibility that the volcano could trigger a tsunami. It later ruled that out.

The eruption, some 640 km (400 miles) east of the capital, Jakarta, follows a series of earthquakes in the west of Java, including one last month that killed more than 300 people.

Indonesia's Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation, PVMBG, raised the level of volcanic activity to its highest level and warned residents not to approach within 8 km (5 miles) of Semeru's eruption centre.

Hot ash clouds had drifted nearly 12 miles (19 km) from the centre of eruption, it said.

PVMBG chief Hendra Gunawan said a bigger volume of magma could have built up compared with previous eruptions of the volcano, in 2021 and 2020, which could mean greater danger for a bigger area.

"Semeru's hot clouds could reach further and at a distance where there are many residences," he said.

In a video sent to Reuters by police in the area, villagers were seen moving away from the slopes of the volcano, some with belongings stacked on motor bikes. A damaged bridge was covered in volcanic ash.

With 142 volcanoes, Indonesia has the world's largest population living close range to volcano, with 8.6 million people within 10 km (6 miles) of one.

The deadly late-November quake that hit in West Java was 5.6 magnitude but at a shallow depth. A 6.1 quake struck at a deeper depth on Saturday sending people running from buildings but it did not cause major damage or casualties.

NDTV
 
Landslide Buries Bus In Colombia, At Least 27 Dead

Bogota: At least 27 people died when a landslide buried a bus in Colombia's northwest on Sunday, Colombia's President Gustavo Petro said.

The landslide, caused by strong rains, hit the vehicle between the villages of Pueblo Rico and Santa Cecilia in Risaralda province, about 230km (140 miles) from the capital Bogota.

"With sadness I must announce that so far 27 people - including three minors - have lost their lives in the tragedy in Pueblo Rico, Risaralda," Petro posted on Twitter.

"Solidarity with the families of the victims," he added, pledging support from the national government.

Pueblo Rico Mayor Leonardo Fabio Siagama told reporters that bodies were being brought to a covered stadium in the town that is normally used for sport.

Risaralda's governor, Victor Manuel Tamayo, said earlier that five people had been rescued alive from the bus.

Officials had said at least 25 people were on the bus traveling between Cali, Colombia's third largest city, and Condoto, in Choco province.

Colombia had been hit by an unusually heavy rainy season, blamed on the La Nina weather phenomenon,

Events linked to heavy rains have killed more than 216 people and left 538,000 homeless so far in 2022, according to government statistics. Another 48 people are still missing across the country, the figures show.

NDTV
 
Chile On Alert As Active Villarrica Volcano Rumbles, Spits Fire

Chile's snow-capped Villarrica volcano has been shaken by earthquakes and is belching fire, placing authorities on alert for a possible eruption in a picturesque area beloved by tourists.

Since October, the 2,847-meter (9,300-foot)-high Villarrica has been the site of gas explosions and seismic events, with pillars of fire up to 220 meters high shooting out of its lava lake.

Alvaro Amigo, the head of the National Volcanic Surveillance Network, told AFP that "while we cannot predict when the volcano will erupt, the conditions are in place," according to daily assessments of activity at the site.

The glacier-clad volcano overlooks the city of Puccon, with a population of around 28,000 people who live just 15 kilometers (10 miles) from the peak.

The region's lakes and lush forests are a popular tourist draw and some 10,000 visitors climb Villarrica each summer, according to official figures.

"The thing about Villarrica is the risk, because many people are living in areas that are highly exposed" to potential damage from the volcano, said geophysicist Cristian Farias.

He warned that residents had forgotten the hazards of "what Villarrica can do."

Amigo said the volcano was dangerous because its eruptions often cause perilous volcanic rock and mud flows "and because it has a large population and infrastructure around it."

Experts compare the current level of activity to that seen before the previous eruption in 2015, when an explosion of lava, gas and ash shot up 1.5 kilometers into the air, causing no damage before the volcano quieted down again.

Villarrica's last major eruption was in 1984.

The National Geology and Mining Service issued a yellow alert in November in four towns close to the peak, meaning no one can come within 500 meters of the crater. The body has also put in place emergency evacuation plans and real-time monitoring of volcanic activity.

A yellow alert is the step before an orange alert, which indicates imminent eruption.

Mining Minister Marcela Hernando said the idea was to reassure citizens that technology and experts are constantly keeping an eye on Chile's 45 "most important volcanoes."

NDTV
 
Lascar Volcano In Chile's Andes Stirs, Shoots Smoke, Ash 6 Kms Upwards

A volcano in the Andes in Chile's north rumbled to life early Saturday, triggering minor earth tremors and sending a plume of smoke and ash 6,000 meters (nearly 20,000 feet) into a clear sky.

Chile's National Geology and Mining Service reported that at 12:36 am (15:36 GMT) the Lascar volcano stirred.

The volcano sent "an eruptive column" comprising volcanic ash and hot gases 6,000 meters above its crater, the service said.

Authorities raised an alert level to "yellow," indicating elevated volcanic activity, and established a no-entry perimeter five kilometers (three miles) around the crater.

They also alerted aircraft to the drifting plume.

Authorities stayed in close contact with officials in Talabre, a town 30 kilometers from the volcano, in case evacuations were required. But no property damage was reported.

Lascar, with an elevation of 5,592 meters above sea level, is 70 kilometers from San Pedro de Atacama, a popular tourist center that draws visitors for trekking, amateur astronomy and visits to the Atacama Desert, the driest place on Earth.

Lascar erupted in 1993 but also had lesser volcanic activity in 2006 and 2015.

Farther to the south, yellow alerts remain in effect for regions around the Nevados de Chillan volcanic complex and the Villarrica volcano.

NDTV
 
Volcano Erupts In Guatemala, Forcing Closure Of Airport, Highway

One of the most active volcanoes in Central America has erupted again, spewing lava and ash and forcing authorities in Guatemala City on Sunday to briefly close the country's largest airport and a major highway.

The volcano named Fuego -- Spanish for fire -- rumbled into activity overnight Saturday into Sunday, with molten rock oozing down its slopes and ash belching two kilometers (more than a mile) into the sky. Winds carried the ash toward Guatemala City, 35 kilometers (22 miles) away.

La Aurora international airport, six kilometers south of the capital, was temporarily closed at mid-morning, the General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics said in a statement, citing the presence of ash near the runway.

At least two incoming flights had to be diverted, aviation sources said, before it reopened around midday local time after winds changed direction and sent ash away from the facility.

In addition, a road that connects southern and central Guatemala was closed as a precaution, said Carlos Aquino, a spokesman for the highway police. It reopened Sunday afternoon as the volcano's activity subsided.

The volcano sits about 16 kilometers from Antigua, the country's picturesque former capital and biggest tourist attraction.

Fuego erupts every four to five years on average. In 2018, an eruption sent rivers of lava pouring down its sides, devastating the village of San Miguel Los Lotes, killing 215 people and leaving a similar number missing.

Authorities are monitoring the latest eruption closely, and so far no one has been evacuated, said Rodolfo Garcia, a civil protection spokesman.

"With what happened in 2018, now the authorities are already more alert and more active," said Jose Sul, another resident of Alotenango.

Locals saw a sudden expulsion of lava on Saturday night that reddened the sky. "People here are used to experiencing this, and they look at it as normal," Demetrio Pamal, a 28-year-old Indigenous Mayan farmer, told AFP.

Many local families have a backpack ready with food, water, a flashlight and medicine so they can evacuate for up to three days at the drop of a hat.

Guatemala has two other active volcanoes -- Santiaguito in the west of the country and Pacaya in the south.

Fuego also adjoins the inactive Acatenango volcano -- at 3,500 meters.

Unlike South America's Andean volcanoes, Guatemala's are not snow-capped because of Central America's warmer climate.

Central America has more than 100 volcanoes, many of which are wildly popular tourist attractions, even though they occasionally cause death and destruction.

NDTV
 
18 Killed After Landslide In Malaysia, Dozens Missing

A landslide killed at least 18 people, including children, as they slept in their tents at an unlicensed campsite in Malaysia on Friday, officials said, as search teams scoured thick mud and downed trees for survivors.

The landslide in Selangor state bordering the capital, Kuala Lumpur, occurred before 3 a.m. (1900 GMT), tearing down a hillside into an organic farm that officials said was operating the campsite illegally.

Among the victims were three children and 10 women, according to the fire and rescue department.

Camper Teh Lynn Xuan, 22, said one of her brothers was killed and another was being treated in hospital.

"I heard a loud sound like thunder, but it was the rocks falling," she told Malay-language daily Berita Harian.

"We felt the tents becoming unstable and soil was falling around us. Luckily, I was able to leave the tent and go to some place safer. My mother and I managed to crawl out and save ourselves."

The disaster struck about 50 km (30 miles) north of Kuala Lumpur in Batang Kali, just outside the popular hilltop area of Genting Highlands, known for its resorts, waterfalls and natural beauty.

The earth fell from an estimated height of 30 metres (100 ft) and covered an area of about an acre (0.4 hectares), according to the fire and rescue department's state director.

An initial investigation showed an embankment of about 450,000 cubic metres of earth had collapsed, according to minister of natural resources, environment and climate change, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.

There were 94 people caught in the landslide but 61 were safe, with 15 missing, according to the Malaysia National Disaster Management Agency.

Eight people were hospitalised, including a pregnant woman, while others had injuries ranging from minor cuts to a suspected spinal injury, health minister Zaliha Mustafa said.

District police chief Suffian Abdullah said the dead were all Malaysians, including a child of about five. Close to 400 personnel were involved in the rescue mission, he said.

Pictures posted on the Father's Organic Farm Facebook page show a farmhouse in a small valley, with a large area where tents can be set up. The farm owners did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

UNLICENSED BUSINESS

Its owners were allowed to operate organic farms, but had not applied for licences to run three campsites on the property, Local Government Development Minister Nga Kor Ming told reporters.

If found guilty of violating the law, the owners can be jailed up to three years or fined up to 50,000 ringgit ($11,300), Nga said, adding he had ordered campsites near rivers, hillsides and other high-risk areas nationwide to close for seven days.

Local television footage showed the aftermath of a large landslide through a steep, forested area beside a road, while images on social media showed rescue workers clambering over thick mud, large trees and other debris.

"I pray that the missing victims can be found safely soon," minister Nik Nazmi tweeted.

Selangor is the country's most affluent state and has suffered landslides before, often attributed to forest and land clearance.

Landslides are common in Malaysia, but typically only after heavy rains. Flooding occurs often, with about 21,000 people displaced last year by torrential rain in seven states.

Leong Jim Meng, another camper, said he had not expected a landslide as there had been only light drizzle in recent days.

"My family and I were trapped when the soil covered our tent," he told Berita Harian. "We managed to run to the parking lot and called the authorities. They arrived quite quickly, about 30 minutes later."

NDTV
 
Death toll after Congo capital floods rises to 169, U.N. says

The death toll after heavy flooding in the Democratic Republic of Congo's capital Kinshasa this week has risen to 169, the United Nations' humanitarian office (OCHA) said on Friday, citing authorities.

Heavy downpour caused floods and landslides from Monday night through early Tuesday, leveling at least 280 houses in Kinshasa's Mont-Ngafula district and a large stretch of Congo's main national highway, according to U.N. estimates.

A joint team from OCHA and Congo's social affairs ministry visited the worst-hit neighborhoods on Thursday to assess the damage. The team estimated that around 38,000 people had been impacted by the floods, OCHA said in a statement Friday.

"Today marks the end of three day of national mourning in memory of those deceased," the statement said. "The Government has confirmed that it will organize a dignified and secure burial of those who have lost their lives."

Once a fishing village on the banks of the Congo river, Kinshasa has grown into one of Africa's largest megacities with a population of around 15 million.

Poorly regulated rapid urbanization has made the city increasingly vulnerable to flash floods after intense rains, which have become more frequent due to climate change.

Reuters
 
Death toll from Malaysia campsite landslide rises to 24, nine missing

Rescue teams searching for survivors from a landslide that tore though a campsite in Malaysia recovered the bodies of a woman and two children on Saturday, officials said, raising the death toll to 24.

The landslide in Batang Kali, a popular hilly area about 50 km (30 miles) north of Kuala Lumpur, flattened the unlicensed campsite early on Friday while people slept in their tents. Those killed included seven children.

Of the 94 people caught in the slide, 61 were safe and nine still missing, according to the Selangor state fire and rescue department.

State fire and rescue chief Norazam Khamis said chances of more survivors being found were slim, given the weight of mud pressing down on the site.

Search and rescue operations resumed for a second day earlier on Saturday, after a halt overnight due to heavy rains.

A total of 135 responders and seven rescue dogs resumed scouring through thick mud and downed trees around 8.30 a.m. (0030 GMT) with the assistance of excavators, Norazam told reporters.

An initial investigation showed an embankment of about 450,000 cubic metres of earth had collapsed. The earth fell from an estimated height of 30 metres (100 ft) and covered an area of about an acre (0.4 hectares).

Survivors are in stable condition and will also receive trauma counselling, said Health Minister Zaliha Mustafa.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Friday the government would provide 10,000 ringgit ($2,260) in aid to families of every person killed , while survivors would receive 1,000 ringgit per household.

Following the disaster, the Forestry Department in several states ordered the closure of campsites and hiking and off-road trails considered as high risk.

Landslides are common in Malaysia, but typically only after heavy rains. Flooding occurs often, with about 21,000 people displaced last year by torrential rain in seven states.

Reuters
 
5 Killed, Over 70,000 Evacuated In Malaysia Floods

At least five people were killed and over 70,000 rushed to evacuation centres in Malaysia after monsoon-triggered floods inundated the country's north, authorities said Wednesday.

Over 31,000 people have fled their homes in Kelantan state while more than 39,000 residents have been evacuated to temporary shelters in neighbouring Terengganu after flooding began over the weekend, the official Bernama news agency said.

Emergency services officials said a total of five people have died.

"The water levels reached almost three metres (10 feet)," Muhammad Ameenudin Badrul Hisyam from Kuala Krai district in Kelantan told AFP, as he cleared debris from his home after a nearby river overflowed and forced his family to flee.

Local media reported that four people died in Kelantan on Monday when three sisters were electrocuted while wading in the floodwaters and a 15-month-old boy drowned.

The fifth victim was a two-year-old girl swept away by strong currents in Terengganu on Sunday.

Additional evacuations took place in the states of Pahang, Johor and Perak, Bernama news said.

Floods are an annual phenomenon in the Southeast Asian nation of 33 million people due to the northeast monsoon that brings heavy rain from November to March.

In the same month last year, the country was battered by its worst floods in history when more than 50 people died and thousands more were displaced.

New Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who was due to visit some of the affected areas later on Wednesday, has said his government will release extra funds for disaster management and rescue efforts.

Anwar, who is also the finance minister, said in parliament Tuesday the government has initially allocated RM400 million ($90 million) to the National Disaster Management Agency.

Disaster officials said they will carry out aerial monitoring of the flood situation in the worst-hit states.

NDTV
 
At least 14 people have died in California as a fierce storm brings torrential downpours, high winds and flooding to the state.

Thousands of people have evacuated their homes, while millions more are under severe weather warnings.

Nearly 230,000 homes and businesses were without electricity, according to data from Poweroutage.us.

Heavy rain is forecast to last much of the state throughout Tuesday, with some areas at risk of dangerous mudslides.

The National Weather Service (NWS) has described it as "the most impressive storm since January 2005".

The weather is expected to dump up to 7in (18cm) of rain in some parts by Wednesday and could produce additional flooding, mudslides and landslides. particularly in areas previously hardest hit by heavy rainfall, NWS officials warned.

A five-year-old, who was swept away by floodwaters near Paso Robles on Monday, is still missing.

BBC
 
‘My city is gone’: Many dead as tornado tears across Mississippi
Death toll at 26 after a powerful storm and tornado rips through US states of Mississippi and Alabama.

Dozens of people have been killed after a powerful storm that spawned at least one tornado ripped across the US states of Mississippi and Alabama, tearing off roofs, smashing cars and levelling entire neighbourhoods.

Mississippi’s emergency management agency put the death toll at 25 on Saturday and said dozens more were injured. Four people reported missing “have been found,” it added.

...
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023...many-dead-as-tornado-tears-across-mississippi
 
Wildfires in Hawaii have killed at least 67 people - the deadliest natural disaster since it became a US state in 1959.

Search teams are continuing to scour the ruins of Lahaina - a town on Maui island - with the help of cadaver dogs.

Governor Josh Green has warned the number of fatalities will continue to rise, with deaths now surpassing the 61 people who died in a 1960 tsunami.

SKY
 
People in the Hawaiian resort town ravaged by a horrific inferno have expressed anger as the death toll from the wildfires rose to 89 on Saturday, making it officially the deadliest US wildfire in more than 100 years.

Officials said the toll might go up further as search teams continue sifting through the ruins of Lahaina town located on Maui island. The resort town of more than 12,000 people has been reduced to ruins, its lively hotels and restaurants turned to ashes.

“It’s going to continue to rise. We want to brace people for that,” Governor Josh Green told reporters on Saturday.

“It will certainly be the worst natural disaster that Hawaii ever faced,” Green said as he toured the devastation on historic Front Street.

The latest figure exceeded the 85 people who perished in a 2018 fire in the town of Paradise, California and was the highest death toll from a wildfire since 1918 when the Cloquet fire in Minnesota and Wisconsin killed 453 people.

Maui police chief John Pelletier said only a fraction of the disaster zone had been searched, and only two of the 89 victims identified because of how badly they were burned. He added that cadaver dogs trained to detect bodies have only covered only 3 percent of the search area.


“The remains we’re finding are from a fire that melted metal,” he said. “We have to do rapid DNA to identify every one of these.

“When we pick up the remains … they fall apart.”

Cost of rebuilding estimated at $5.5bn

The cost to rebuild Lahaina was estimated at $5.5bn, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), with more than 2,200 structures damaged or destroyed and more than 2,100 acres (850 hectares) burned.

“Our focus now is to reunite people when we can and get them housing and get them health care, and then turn to rebuilding,” Governor Green said, adding that it would take “an incredible amount of time” to recover.”


At least two other fires have been burning on Maui, with no fatalities reported thus far: in south Maui’s Kihei area and in the mountainous, inland communities known as Upcountry. A fourth broke out Friday evening in Kaanapali, a coastal community north of Lahaina, but crews were able to extinguish it, authorities said.


Green said the Upcountry fire had affected 544 structures, of which 96 percent were residential.

Hawaiian authorities have begun an inquiry into the handling of the fire, with residents saying there had been no warning.

“The mountain behind us caught on fire,” Vilma Reed told AFP. “You know when we found that there was a fire? When it was across the street from us.”

Reed, whose house was destroyed by the blaze, said she was now dependent on handouts and the kindness of strangers.

“This is my home now,” the 63-year-old said, gesturing to the car she has been sleeping in with her daughter, grandson and two cats.


Emergency managers in Maui were searching for places to house people displaced from their homes. As many as 4,500 people are in the need of shelter, county officials said on Facebook early on Saturday, citing figures from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Pacific Disaster Center.

Officials have secured 1,000 hotel rooms for people who lost their homes and are arranging for rental properties to serve as housing at no cost to families, Green said. More than 1,400 people had been taken in at emergency shelters.

For many who fled the flames, the misery was compounded on Saturday as they were prevented from returning to their homes.

Maui police said members of the public would not be allowed into Lahaina until the affected area has been declared safe.

“Anyone entering the disaster area … is subject to a misdemeanour crime punishable by up to one year in jail and a $2,000 fine,” the police said.
 
Hurricane Hilary has weakened as it heads towards Mexico's Pacific coast and California but could still cause "life-threatening" flooding, US meteorologists warn.

With winds of 85 mph (140 km/h), it has been downgraded to a Category 1 storm.

Heavy rain lashed parts of Mexico's Baja California peninsula and the south-western US overnight.
 
About 30,000 households have been ordered to evacuate in Canada's British Columbia province, where nearly 400 wildfires are raging.

Two huge fires in the Shuswap region merged overnight, destroying blocks of houses and other buildings.

To the south, travel to the waterside city of Kelowna has been restricted, and smoke from nearby fires hangs over Lake Okanagan.

Fires have charred homes in West Kelowna, a nearby city of 36,000.

The travel restriction around Kelowna is designed to ensure enough accommodation for evacuees and emergency workers. It also applies to the towns of Kamloops, Oliver, Penticton and Vernon and Osoyoos.

Hundreds of miles north, a huge fire continues to edge towards the city of Yellowknife.

An official deadline to evacuate the city - the capital of Canada's Northwest Territories - lapsed on Friday. A local official said later that day that nearly all residents had left, either by car or plane.

About 19,000 of the city's 20,000 inhabitants had evacuated. Authorities said 39 patients were moved out of a hospital to alternative facilities on Friday evening, making them the last people to be evacuated from the city.

Environment and communities minister Shane Thompson said some people had chosen "to shelter in place", but urged locals to leave.
 
Canada wildfires: which cities are affected and is it safe to travel?

A state of emergency is in place in British Columbia, as a fast-moving wildfire moves closer to the city of West Kelowna. Around 30,000 residents have already been evacuated and there are another 36,000 under an evacuation alert.

The government’s Canadian Wildland Fire Information System has a live, interactive map on which you can see see the affected areas and location of fires.

Around 19,000 residents have been evacuated from Yellowknife. In a press conference on Friday, August 18, prime minister Justin Trudeau said that the government has deployed “significant military assets” to support with the firefighting efforts and air evacuations taking place in the Northwest Territories.

Thousands of people have also been evacuated in British Columbia where there are more than 360 active fires burning. States of emergency have been declared and 15,000 homes have been evacuated, with another 20,000 asked to stay on high alert.

The fire is “still very much dynamic”, said Jerrad Schroeder, a BC Wildfire Service chief. “There’s still portions of this fire that we just have not prioritised.”
 

Athens district evacuated as Greek fire death toll hits 20​


athens.jpg

ALEXANDROUPOLI, Greece: Thousands of people in an outer district of Greece’s capital Athens were under evacuation orders Tuesday as firefighters battled a steadily growing wave of wildfires around the country that has left 20 dead.

Civil protection ordered the evacuation of Ano Liosia in northwest Athens, a district of over 25,000 people while at the neighboring community of Fyli an AFP journalist saw homes on fire.

Over 60 fires have erupted in the past 24 hours, and six countries were sending help via the European Union’s civil protection mechanism, the fire department said, amid a dangerous mix of gale-force winds and temperatures of up to 41 degrees Celsius.

“The situation is unprecedented, weather conditions are extreme,” fire department spokesman Yiannis Artopios told state TV ERT, adding that the Tuesday fires “grew to gigantic size” in a short space of time.

The fire is burning the lower slopes of the Mount Parnitha, the largest forest bordering Athens, which has been burned several times.

Another big blaze was still raging at a landfill in the industrial zone of Aspropyrgos, west of Athens, covering the area in a noxious black cloud.

Over 40,000 hectares were destroyed in wildfires the three days from August 19 to 21, according to a report by the National Observatory of Athens.
 
Category 3 Hurricane Idalia makes landfall on Florida coast

Hurricane Idalia made landfall in northwest Florida as an "extremely dangerous" Category 3 hurricane, prompting warnings of catastrophic effects, including storm surges of up to 16 feet (nearly five meters) on Wednesday.

Authorities in the southern US state described Idalia and its potentially deadly high surging waters as a once-in-a-lifetime event for Florida's northwest coast, ordering mass evacuations and issuing flood alerts.


The News
 
ATHENS: Devastating wildfires in Greece will ravage more than 150,000 hectares (370,600 acres) by the end of the summer, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis estimated Thursday, blaming the climate crisis for the disaster.

Like many countries around the Mediterranean, Greece has been plagued by wildfires since the start of the summer, with 26 people dying in forest fires fanned by dry, windy and hot conditions.

A massive blaze in Dadia forest, which the EU has branded the largest ever wildfire recorded in the bloc, was still burning for a 13th day.

The area burned by fires "will exceed 1,500,000,000 square metres (150,000 hectares) including the fire in the Dadia forest", Mitsotakis told parliament.

"Is the climate crisis the alibi for everything? No, it is not an alibi, but it is part of the interpretation," he said.

Around 600 firefighters, backed up by 10 fixed-wing aircraft and seven helicopters, are battling the fire, which broke out on August 19 in a forest protected by the European Natura 2000 network and a habitat or hibernation area for birds of prey.


Brecorder
 
Super Typhoon Saola threatened southern China on Friday with some of the strongest winds the region has endured, forcing the megacities of Hong Kong and Shenzhen to effectively shut down.

Tens of millions of people sheltered indoors as hundreds of flights were cancelled, the stock market suspended trading and the start of Hong Kong’s school year was delayed.

With a direct hit on Hong Kong possible, authorities warned they may raise the warning level from T8 to T9 or T10 — the city’s highest alert, which has only been issued 16 times since World War II.


Dawn
 
Two injured, thousands left without power as Typhoon Haikui hits Taiwan.

Two people have been injured and nearly 10,000 homes left without power as Typhoon Haikui made landfall in Taiwan, the island’s official Central News Agency (CNA) reported on Sunday.

The two injured people were traveling in a van when a tree fell on the vehicle, “leaving them trapped inside,” CNA said.

They suffered injuries but were conscious and taken to hospital, it added.

The storm made landfall along the southeastern coastal township of Donghe at about 3:40 p.m. local time, the weather bureau said.

As of 2 p.m. local time on Sunday, more than 9,300 households in the Taitung and Hualien counties had lost electricity, state electricity provider Taipower said. Repair works are underway.

The capital Taipei is currently experiencing heavy rains.

CNN
 
Hong Kong has been deluged with the heaviest rain in 140 years, causing widespread flooding in the densely populated and hilly Chinese territory.

Authorities shut schools “due to extreme conditions” and told workers to stay at home on Friday as streets, shopping malls and metro stations were submerged. The city’s cross-harbour tunnel, a key link between Hong Kong Island to Kowloon, was also inundated with water, and landslide warnings were issued for some areas.

The Hong Kong Observatory, the city’s weather agency, reported hourly rainfall of 158.1 millimetres at its headquarters in the hour leading up to midnight (16:00 GMT), the highest since records began in 1884.

The territory’s chief executive John Lee said he was very concerned about the severe flooding, and that he had instructed all departments to respond with “all-out efforts”.

The weather bureau issued the highest “black” rainstorm warning and said the extreme conditions were expected to continue until at least noon (04:00 GMT) on Friday.


ALJAZEERA
 
A storm moving closer to the U.S. East Coast will deliver tropical storm conditions to North Carolina on Friday, the National Hurricane Center said.

The storm was off the coast of South Carolina and North Carolina early Friday with top sustained winds of 50 mph.

As of Friday morning, the storm was located about 330 miles southeast of Charleston, South Carolina, and about 325 miles south Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and moving north around 14 mph, the center said.

CBS affiliate WKTR reported that the storm is expected to affect North Carolina on Friday and linger until Saturday evening or Sunday morning. The rain will be heaviest between Friday night and Saturday morning, with three to six inches of rain expected while the storm is in the area. The area will be under flood watch from 2 p.m. Friday until noon Sunday, with several inches of storm surge expected. There will also be strong winds gusting up to 55 miles per hour in coastal areas.

A tropical storm warning is in effect from Cape Fear, North Carolina, to Fenwick Island, Delaware. It also includes the Chesapeake Bay south of North Beach, Tidal Potomac south of Cobb Island and Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds. \

North Carolina Emergency Management warned large swells from distant Hurricane Nigel also would reach the state's coast on Thursday, boosting the rip current risk. The combination of those swells and the low-pressure system could mean additional ocean overwash, beach erosion and coastal flooding.

After passing through North Carolina, the storm will travel into southeast Virginia. Virginia emergency management officials warned of heavy rain, high winds and flooding in the next few days.

The Virginia Department of Emergency Management said on social media Thursday that officials are coordinating with local weather service offices to watch the system developing off the coast. Officials called on residents to prepare for the storm and its impacts on the region throughout the weekend.

The hurricane center said storm surge between 2 and 4 feet (0.6 to 1.2 meters) was expected along the storm's path. Storm surge warnings are in effect from Duck, North Carolina to Chincoteague, Virginia, including Chesapeake Bay south of Windmill Point, and for the Neuse River, the Pamlico River, and portions of Pamlico Sound. Storm surge watches have been issued from Surf City in North Carolina to Duck, North Carolina, along with Chesapeake Bay north of Windmill Point to Smith Point, the Tidal Potomac south of Colonial Beach and Albemarle and the remainder of Pamlico Sound.

Though the system had reached tropical storm strength, it was yet to be given a name and the center was still referring to it as Potential Tropical Cyclone 16 on Friday morning. The hurricane center defines a potential tropical cyclone as a disturbance posing a threat of tropical storm or hurricane conditions to land within 48 hours.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Nigel was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone centered about 640 miles (1,030 kilometers) northwest of the Azores with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (110 kph). There were no associated coastal watches or warnings as the storm moved northeast at 37 mph (59 kph), the hurricane center said in its final update on the system Friday morning.

Source CBS News
 
At least 11 people have been killed after heavy rain and winds hit South Africa's Western Cape province, including Cape Town, over the weekend leaving a trail of destruction.

Authorities warn that the death toll may rise as the floodwater subsides.

The destructive weather flooded homes, tore off roofs, destroyed crops and damaged roads and other infrastructure.
Rescue teams are still searching for people who are feared trapped in their partially submerged homes.

Eight of the 11 people who died were electrocuted in an informal settlement when waters swamped illegal connections to the power lines.

Seventy-two primary school pupils and 10 adults were trapped in a resort in the town of Oudtshoorn after a nearby river overflowed. They were later rescued after the water subsided.

More than 80 roads were closed and at least 15,000 homes were cut off from the power grid, Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said.

City of Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has signed a major incident declaration appealing for additional resources and relief measures to deal with the aftermath of the rainfall.

The city has also closed the popular Steenbras Nature Reserve and Gorge hiking route to assess the impact of the floods.
Anton Bredell, a provincial cabinet minister in charge of environmental affairs, said that helicopters were searching for some people who had been trapped. We expect the worst there,he said.

The damaging rains, which ended on Monday, came a week after larger than normal spring tides hit the area.
Climate change has been blamed for some recent weather-related incidents in South Africa.

Source: BBC

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State of emergency issued for NYC's wettest day since Ida; rain, flooding expected to last hours

Heavy rain and flooding on Friday making for an extremely challenging and dangerous Friday morning commute and led to subway and rail service suspensions and the closure of a terminal at LaGuardia Airport.

Forecasts are reinforcing the potential for heavy rain centered around the NYC area from Friday into Saturday morning. A flood watch is in effect through 6 a.m. Saturday for the entire tri-state, with rainfall rates of 1-2 inches per hour expected at times. Throughout the region, at very least 2-4 inches can be expected, while some areas can expect to see between 5-8 inches before the storms move on.

Parts of New York City have already seen five inches of rain as of 11 a.m.

Flash flood warnings were issued for much of NYC and surrounding counties in New Jersey, the Hudson Valley and into Connecticut into the early afternoon, and were likely to be extended further.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency for the areas impacted.

"I am declaring a State of Emergency in New York City, the Hudson Valley and Long Island in response to the significant, dangerous rainfall that is currently impacting the region and is expected to continue for the next 20 hours," Hocul said in a statement. "Ahead of this storm we deployed thousands of State personnel and I have directed all State agencies to provide all necessary resources to address this extreme weather event. It is critical that all New Yorkers take all necessary precautions and avoid flooded roads, which are some of the most dangerous places during flash floods."


www.nbcnewyork.com

State of emergency issued for NYC's wettest day since Ida; rain, flooding expected to last hours

The tri-state finally started to dry out from the four-day soaker that put a damper on plans last weekend — and now more rain is hitting the area.
www.nbcnewyork.com www.nbcnewyork.com
 
A state of emergency has been declared in New York City as strong storms bring flash flooding.

Many of the city's subway systems, streets and highways have flooded, while at least one terminal at LaGuardia Airport closed on Friday before later reopening.

Up to 8in (20cm) of rain fell in some parts of the city, but skies had calmed slightly by the evening.

"This is a dangerous, life-threatening storm," Governor Kathy Hochul said.

"I am declaring a state of emergency across New York City, Long Island, and the Hudson Valley due to the extreme rainfall we're seeing throughout the region," Gov Hochul said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
 
Director National Tsunami Center Amir Haider Laghari rejected the prediction of earthquake in Pakistan by the international organization and said that it is not possible to predict where and when the earthquake will occur in Pakistan.

According to the details, the statement of the director of the National Tsunami Center regarding the prediction of the earthquake in Pakistan came from the international organization.

Director National Tsunami Center Amir Haider Laghari has said that where and when an earthquake will occur in Pakistan cannot be predicted, the borders of 2 large plates pass through Pakistan and these borders extend from Soumani to the northern region of Pakistan. Earthquakes can occur at any point in the boundary line, which is unpredictable.

Amir Haideralghari said that in 1892, an earthquake of magnitude 9 to 10 occurred on the Chaman fault line, while in the year 1935, a severe earthquake occurred in the Chaltan range in which thousands of people died.

He further said that after a period of 100 years, there is a possibility of another earthquake in the boundary line.

Source: ARY
 
23 Soldiers Missing After Cloudburst Triggers Flash Flood In Sikkim
The Sikkim administration has issued a high alert to residents. Videos recorded and shared by local residents show roads washed away and the river in spate.

Gangtok: Twenty-three Army personnel are missing in Sikkim after a cloudburst triggered flash floods in Teesta river. A massive search has been launched to locate the missing soldiers, the Army has said.
A statement by the Army's Eastern Command has said some establishments along Lachen valley have been affected. "Release of water from the Chungthang dam led to a sudden increase in water level upto 15-20 feet high downstream. This has led to Army vehicles parked at Bardang near Singtam getting affected. 23 personnel have been reported missing and some vehicles are reported submerged under the slush. Search operations are underway," the statement said.

Sikkim has received heavy rain through the night. A cloudburst over Lhonak Lake in north Sikkim caused it to overflow and pushed up the water levels in Teesta river. The Teesta river flows through Sikkim and West Bengal before entering Bangladesh.

www.ndtv.com

Cloudburst In Sikkim Triggers Flash Floods, 43, Including 20 Soldiers, Missing

Twenty-three Army personnel are missing in Sikkim after a cloudburst triggered flash floods in Teesta river. A massive search has been launched to locate the missing soldiers, the Army has said.
www.ndtv.com www.ndtv.com
 
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake hit northern Philippines on Wednesday, said authorities.

The earthquake was reported in the Calayan town of the Cagayan province, state-run Philippine News Agency cited the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology as saying.

The tremor, with its epicenter 22 kilometers (13 miles) northwest of Dalupiri Island, hit the region at around 11.35 a.m. (0335GMT).

There were no immediate reports of damage or loss of life.



tribune.com.pk

Magnitude 6.2 earthquake shakes Philippines | The Express Tribune

No immediate reports of damage, casualties after tremors in Cagayan province
tribune.com.pk tribune.com.pk
 
Fourteen people were killed and nearly two dozen soldiers were among the more than 100 people missing because of flash flooding in Sikkim on India’s long-disputed border with China

Source: WSJ
 
About 50 bodies were recovered and significant infrastructure was destroyed during flooding in India’s northeast this week, with dozens missing and over a thousand tourists stranded in the Himalayan state of Sikkim, according to authorities.

Source: The Washington Post
 
Earthquakes in Afghanistan have left hundreds of people dead, according to the UN.

Two 6.3-magnitude quakes hit the west of the country on Saturday, according to the US Geological Survey.
 
Pakistan’s foreign office expressed solidarity with Afghanistan on Sunday as the death toll from Saturday’s devastating earthquake, which struck the western regions of the country, surged past 2,000.

A powerful magnitude-6.3 earthquake and aftershocks on Saturday killed at least 2,053 people and injured 1,240 others across 13 villages in Afghanistan, Afghan government official Suhail Shaheen said.

Pakistan’s foreign office said it was deeply saddened by the tragic loss of lives and widespread damage in Afghanistan, extending condolences to the families of the victims.

Pakistan stands in complete solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan during this difficult time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) spokesperson said in a statement.

MoFA said Pakistan’s government is in contact with Afghan authorities to get a first-hand assessment of the urgent needs of those affected by the disaster.

Pakistan will extend all possible support to the recovery effort, MoFA added.

The development takes place amid strained ties between Islamabad and Kabul after Pakistan’s government on Tuesday warned illegal immigrants to leave the country before Nov. 1 or face deportation afterward.

Pakistani officials say hundreds of thousands of Afghans have traveled to Pakistan since foreign forces left Afghanistan and the Taliban took over Kabul in 2021. Even before then, Pakistan hosted some 1.5 million registered refugees, one of the largest such populations in the world, according to the United Nations refugee agency. More than a million others are estimated to live in Pakistan unregistered.

Islamabad has become increasingly anxious about the presence of Afghan nationals in Pakistan as its economic crisis worsens and it struggles to tackle rising militancy in the country.

Pakistan’s interior minister said earlier this week that 14 out of the 24 suicide bombings that have taken place in the country this year were carried out by Afghan nationals.


Source: Arab News
 
Total sympathy and empathy for the Afghan's. These people have been so much that we can't even imagine it. May Allah make it easy for these people.
 
Death toll from flash floods in Indian Himalayas climbs to 74, rescue gathers pace

The death toll from flash floods unleashed by a glacial lake bursting its banks in India's Himalayas climbed to 74 on Monday with 101 people still missing days after the calamity struck, according to provincial officials.

Following days of torrential rain in the northeastern state of Sikkim, torrents of water swept down narrow river valleys from Lohnak Lake, damaging a dam and wreaking destruction in villages and Rangpo town, about 50 km (30 miles) south of state capital Gangtok.

Sikkim's Chief Secretary Vijay Bhushan Pathak, the most senior bureaucrat, told Reuters that rescuers had found 25 bodies in the state and bodies of eight army men washed away were found in the neighbouring downstream state of West Bengal.

He said 101 people were still missing in the latest of a series of natural disasters caused by extreme weather events in the Himalayas. Fourteen army personnel were among the missing, a defence ministry statement said.



www.reuters.com

Death toll from flash floods in Indian Himalayas climbs to 74, rescue gathers pace

The death toll from flash floods unleashed by a glacial lake bursting its banks in India's Himalayas climbed to 74 on Monday with 101 people still missing days after the calamity struck, according to provincial officials.
www.reuters.com www.reuters.com
 
Afghanistan lowers quake death toll to 1,000

The Taliban government had originally said over 2,000 people had been killed in Saturday's magnitude 6.3 quake

Afghan authorities on Wednesday significantly lowered the death toll from a series of quakes that struck western Herat at the weekend to around 1,000.

The Taliban government had originally said over 2,000 people had been killed in Saturday's magnitude 6.3 quake, centred on rural communities northwest of Herat city.

The initial quake was followed by a series of powerful aftershocks.

Public Health Minister Qalandar Ebad on Wednesday lowered the toll to around 1,000, attributing the confusion to the remoteness of the area and double reporting by agencies involved in the rescue effort.

We have over 1,000 people martyred from the first incident, Ebad told reporters in Kabul.

Another earthquake of magnitude 6.3 struck Wednesday morning in the same area, where thousands were spending a fourth night in the open.

Officials said one person died and 130 were injured.

Source: Express News
 
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake shook western Afghanistan on Sunday, the US Geological Survey said, wracking the same region where more than 1,000 people were killed in tremors last week.

The quake hit just after 8:00 am (0330 GMT) with an epicentre 33 kilometres (20 miles) northwest of Herat city, capital of the same-named western province, the USGS said.

Source: Express Tribune
 
At least 28 people have died and 18 remain missing after a mine fire in Kazakhstan, the Ministry for Emergency Situations said on Saturday.

Operator ArcelorMittal Temirtau (MT.LU), the local unit of the Luxembourg-based steelmaker, said 206 of 252 people at the Kostenko mine had been evacuated after what appeared to be a methane blast.

It said 18 people had sought medical attention.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who expressed condolences to the victims' families and declared a national day of mourning on Oct. 29, ordered his cabinet to stop investment cooperation with ArcelorMittal Temirtau.

The government and company also confirmed they were working to finalise a deal to nationalise the company, which operates the country's biggest steel mill.

"ArcelorMittal can also confirm, as communicated earlier today by the government of Kazakhstan, that the two parties have been in discussions concerning the future of ArcelorMittal Temirtau and recently signed a preliminary agreement for a transaction that will transfer ownership to the Republic of Kazakhstan," the miner said.

Source: Reuters
 
At least 26 people were killed in an earthquake that hit a remote part of Nepal, a district official said early Saturday.

"In our district, 26 people have died and many are injured," Suresh Sunar, the chief of Jajarkot in the far west of the Himalayan country, told AFP after the 5.6 magnitude quake struck late Friday.


NDTV
 
Loud wails fill a riverside village in western Nepal that was struck by a powerful earthquake last Friday.

Grieving survivors have gathered around funeral pyres to send off 13 people who died in the 6.4-magnitude quake.

As they grieve their loved ones, survivors in the remote Jajarkot district worry about their future.
They have been sleeping outdoors in the cold since the earthquake flattened their homes and are in dire need of aid.

Jajarkot, in Karnali province, was one of the worst-hit by Friday's earthquake, which left 157 people dead and more than 300 others wounded.

Some of the mourners by the Thuli Bheri river banks cried to the point of fainting and were taken to hospital by ambulance.

Among those cremated was Hire Kami, who had taken a break from his work in India to attend the Tihar light festival in Jajarkot.

His relative Hattiram Mahar said he tried to rescue him from the rubble. He pointed the BBC to the spot where Hire Kami was found gasping for life and asked people not to step on it.

People dug for survivors using bowls, plates and household items, Hattiram Mahar said.

Hire Kami's friend, Hari Bahadur Chunara, also came to pay his respects.

He recalled how the earthquake struck in the middle of the night. "Cries gripped the entire village... None of us could think properly."

The funeral pyres were extinguished as the sun set. Eventually the survivors walked uphill towards the ruins of their village.

"There is no place to take shelter, perhaps relief materials will arrive," said Hari Bahadur Chunara.

Hattiram Mahar said he was worried for children spending another night in the cold, without a roof above their heads.

Further down the Thuli Beri river, in Aathbiskot, earthquake survivor Ganesh Malla is receiving treatment for his wounds.

He remembers being airlifted by helicopter to a hospital, where he is one of 30 survivors.

"My two daughters died," he said. "My wife and son are also injured, I don't even know where they are being treated."

Padam Giri, an orthopedic surgeon at the hospital, recalled the rush of patients in the aftermath of the quake.

"Some didn't even have clothes, so we provided that to them," he said.

Another Aathbiskot resident, Kul Bahadur Malla, appealed for help. "We victims lost our homes. At least for now, I request the government to make arrangements for sleeping and eating."

The epicentre of the quake was located in Barekot, where the damage was not as severe as in Jajarkot.

Still, it caused mud and stone houses to collapse, Barekot resident Ganesh GC said.

However, the concrete houses of those who are more well-off were not damaged as extensively.

"Floods and landslides harass the poor," said Ganesh JC, a teacher.

"Earthquake too has attacked the poor," he added.

Source: BBC
 
Somalia floods kill 29, displace 300,000 people

lash flooding in southwestern Somalia has claimed the lives of more than two dozen people and displaced hundreds of thousands from their homes, an official said, as El Nino downpours lash East Africa.

Since the beginning of the month, ferocious rainstorms have hit Somalia and its neighbours Kenya and Ethiopia, triggering landslides and submerging villages and farms. The flooding comes after Somalia and parts of Ethiopia and Kenya suffered the region´s worst drought in four decades.

“We warned earlier about these rains and predicted this situation was coming,” Mohamed Moalim Abdullahi, chairman of Somalia Disaster Management Agency, said late on Tuesday. At least 29 people have died and about 850,000 others have been affected, Abdullahi said, including over 300,000 who have been uprooted from their homes.

The most affected regions were in the southwest of the strife-weary nation of 17 million people. The UN humanitarian agency, OCHA, on Wednesday said rescue efforts were being delayed because roads had been cut.

“Inaccessible roads and stuck vehicles are just some of the challenges aid workers in Somalia are grappling with,” it said on X, formerly Twitter. A joint effort by aid agencies is “racing against time” to rescue 2,400 people trapped by rising flood waters in the town of Luuq, on the road linking the Somalia-Ethiopia border with Baidoa, OCHA added.

Somalia, as much as the Horn of Africa, is considered one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change but is particularly ill-equipped to cope with the crisis as it battles a deadly Islamist insurgency.

El Nino, which triggers higher global temperatures, is expected to last until at least April 2024, the United Nations said on Wednesday. The World Meteorological Organization highlighted that the phenomenon was occurring in the context of rapid climate change.

Already, at least 15 people have been killed in Kenya due to flash flooding, while more than 20 people have died and over 12,000 been forced from their homes in Ethiopia´s Somali region.


www.thenews.com.pk

Somalia floods kill 29, displace 300,000 people

MOGADISHU: Flash flooding in southwestern Somalia has claimed the lives of more than two dozen people and displaced hundreds of thousands from their homes, an official said, as El Nino downpours...
www.thenews.com.pk www.thenews.com.pk
 
Authorities in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand are racing to rescue around 40 workers who are trapped inside a collapsed tunnel.

The workers were building the tunnel when a part of it caved in on Sunday morning due to a landslide.

A senior official said that contact had been established with the men and they were being provided oxygen and food.

But rescuers still have to dig through several metres of debris before they can start evacuating the labourers.

The accident occurred at 05:00 local time (23:30 GMT) on Sunday - a portion of the Silkyara tunnel, around 200m away from its opening, collapsed while the workers were inside, senior police official Arpan Yaduvanshi told BBC Hindi.

Source: BBC

www.bbc.com

Uttarakhand tunnel collapse: Race to save 40 trapped workers

A portion of the under-construction tunnel collapsed on Sunday morning, trapping the men inside.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
 
FearlessRoar said:
Authorities in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand are racing to rescue around 40 workers who are trapped inside a collapsed tunnel.

The workers were building the tunnel when a part of it caved in on Sunday morning due to a landslide.

A senior official said that contact had been established with the men and they were being provided oxygen and food.

But rescuers still have to dig through several metres of debris before they can start evacuating the labourers.

The accident occurred at 05:00 local time (23:30 GMT) on Sunday - a portion of the Silkyara tunnel, around 200m away from its opening, collapsed while the workers were inside, senior police official Arpan Yaduvanshi told BBC Hindi.

Source: BBC

www.bbc.com

Uttarakhand tunnel collapse: Race to save 40 trapped workers

A portion of the under-construction tunnel collapsed on Sunday morning, trapping the men inside.
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Click to expand...
Rescuers are racing to save 40 workers trapped inside a collapsed tunnel in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand since Sunday morning.

The workers, who were building the tunnel, were trapped when part of it caved in due to a landslide.

Officials have been able to establish contact with the men and have been providing them with food, water and oxygen while they try to get them out.

They say they expect to rescue the workers by Tuesday night or Wednesday.

On Tuesday morning, the state government said rescue teams were "preparing to drill and insert a metal pipe of 900mm diameter in the part of the tunnel blocked by debris" to reach the workers.

Officials hope the men will be able to squeeze through the narrow pipe to safety.

The tunnel in Uttarkashi district is part of the federal government's ambitious highway project to improve connectivity to famous pilgrimage sites in Uttarakhand. The mountainous state, where several Himalayan peaks and glaciers are located, is home to some of the holiest sites for Hindus.

The accident occurred at 05:00 local time (23:30 GMT) on Sunday when a portion of the Silkyara tunnel, around 200m away from its opening, collapsed while the workers were inside, senior police official Arpan Yaduvanshi told BBC Hindi.

A landslide nearby caused heavy debris to fall on the tunnel, leading to its collapse. The mounds of debris cut off oxygen supply to the workers.

Authorities said they established contact with the trapped men on Sunday night using walkie-talkies.

A pipeline, which was laid for supplying water to the tunnel for construction work, is now being used to supply the trapped men with oxygen, food and water, they added.

Rescuers will have to dig through several metres of debris before they can start the evacuations. Excavators and other heavy machines are bring used to dig through the debris.

State Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said national and state disaster relief teams were working together on rescue efforts.

"All the workers trapped inside the tunnel are safe and every effort is being made to get them out soon," a statement from his office said.

Source: BBC

www.bbc.com

Uttarakhand tunnel collapse: Rescuers race to save 40 workers trapped in India tunnel

Officials have established contact with the men and are providing them with food, water and oxygen.
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FearlessRoar said:
Rescuers are racing to save 40 workers trapped inside a collapsed tunnel in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand since Sunday morning.

The workers, who were building the tunnel, were trapped when part of it caved in due to a landslide.

Officials have been able to establish contact with the men and have been providing them with food, water and oxygen while they try to get them out.

They say they expect to rescue the workers by Tuesday night or Wednesday.

On Tuesday morning, the state government said rescue teams were "preparing to drill and insert a metal pipe of 900mm diameter in the part of the tunnel blocked by debris" to reach the workers.

Officials hope the men will be able to squeeze through the narrow pipe to safety.

The tunnel in Uttarkashi district is part of the federal government's ambitious highway project to improve connectivity to famous pilgrimage sites in Uttarakhand. The mountainous state, where several Himalayan peaks and glaciers are located, is home to some of the holiest sites for Hindus.

The accident occurred at 05:00 local time (23:30 GMT) on Sunday when a portion of the Silkyara tunnel, around 200m away from its opening, collapsed while the workers were inside, senior police official Arpan Yaduvanshi told BBC Hindi.

A landslide nearby caused heavy debris to fall on the tunnel, leading to its collapse. The mounds of debris cut off oxygen supply to the workers.

Authorities said they established contact with the trapped men on Sunday night using walkie-talkies.

A pipeline, which was laid for supplying water to the tunnel for construction work, is now being used to supply the trapped men with oxygen, food and water, they added.

Rescuers will have to dig through several metres of debris before they can start the evacuations. Excavators and other heavy machines are bring used to dig through the debris.

State Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said national and state disaster relief teams were working together on rescue efforts.

"All the workers trapped inside the tunnel are safe and every effort is being made to get them out soon," a statement from his office said.

Source: BBC

www.bbc.com

Uttarakhand tunnel collapse: Rescuers race to save 40 workers trapped in India tunnel

Officials have established contact with the men and are providing them with food, water and oxygen.
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Click to expand...

Rescue efforts have entered Day 5. With the World Cup going on, this story not getting much coverage in the local media. 40 peoples lives at stake.
 
Workers Stuck In Tunnel For 170 Hours, Rescue Will Take 4-5 Days: Official
The workers' prolonged confinement within the tunnel is raising serious concerns about their health and well-being.

New Delhi/Dehradun: Rescue teams in Uttarakhand are battling against time to evacuate 41 construction workers who have been trapped under debris for over 170 hours following a tunnel collapse.
The workers' prolonged confinement within the tunnel is raising serious concerns about their health and well-being.

Officials are trying to drill a vertical hole from the top of the hill today - under which the workers have been trapped inside the collapsed tunnel with limited food and communication.

Work to build a platform to start vertical drilling began last evening after high-performance drilling machine was brought to the site from Madhya Pradesh's Indore.

A team of officials from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and experts at the site are also working simultaneously on five plans to rescue the 41 men. "The experts were one in their view that rather than working on just one plan we should work at the same time on five plans to reach the trapped workers as early as possible,"said Bhaskar Khulbe, former advisor to the Prime Minister.

Mr Khulbe said the workers are likely to be rescued in four-five days with concerted efforts of the agencies. "But if the gods are kind enough, it could happen even earlier than that," he said.

Drilling was stopped on Friday evening after officials heard a sudden "cracking sound" from the machine.
www.ndtv.com

Workers Stuck In Tunnel For 170 Hours, Rescue Will Take 4-5 Days: Official

Rescue teams in Uttarakhand are battling against time to evacuate 41 construction workers who have been trapped under debris for over 170 hours following a tunnel collapse.
www.ndtv.com www.ndtv.com
 
At least one person was killed and tens of thousands were forced to flee their homes after heavy downpours triggered flooding across the central Philippines, authorities said Wednesday.

Rescuers used inflatable boats and ropes to reach people stranded in their houses in Northern Samar, one of the hardest hit provinces, where villages and towns have been inundated after a week of rain. The provincial capital Catarman received more than a month´s rainfall in the 24 hours to Tuesday morning, with muddy water turning streets into rivers and flooding shopping malls, houses and commercial buildings.

“The monthly rainfall in Catarman is around 450 millimetres but yesterday alone was 619 (mm),” state weather forecaster Benison Estareja told AFP.

More than 43,000 people have been forced to leave their homes, the national disaster agency said, while they wait for floodwaters to subside. A woman died in Pambujan municipality in Northern Samar after being hit by a tree during a landslide, local disaster chief Pedro Balanquit told AFP.



www.thenews.com.pk

One dead, over 43,000 displaced in Philippines floods

MANILA: At least one person was killed and tens of thousands were forced to flee their homes after heavy downpours triggered flooding across the central Philippines, authorities said...
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18 killed in lightning strikes in India

Indian officials have confirmed that during intense storms across the western state of Gujarat, lightning strikes killed at least 18 people on Sunday.

AFP reported that many were caught off guard as such heavy rainstorms are not expected in the western state during winter.

Although flash floods and lightning strikes kill scores of people across India every year, experts have warned that extreme weather events would increase over time due to global warming.

Gujarat state authorities, in a statement late Sunday, said that around 20 people were killed in the heavy rains with 18 of them losing their lives to lightning. Moreover, around 40 animals were also killed in these events.




www.thenews.com.pk

18 killed in lightning strikes in India

Moreover, around 40 animals were also killed in these events
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FearlessRoar said:
Rescuers are racing to save 40 workers trapped inside a collapsed tunnel in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand since Sunday morning.

The workers, who were building the tunnel, were trapped when part of it caved in due to a landslide.

Officials have been able to establish contact with the men and have been providing them with food, water and oxygen while they try to get them out.

They say they expect to rescue the workers by Tuesday night or Wednesday.

On Tuesday morning, the state government said rescue teams were "preparing to drill and insert a metal pipe of 900mm diameter in the part of the tunnel blocked by debris" to reach the workers.

Officials hope the men will be able to squeeze through the narrow pipe to safety.

The tunnel in Uttarkashi district is part of the federal government's ambitious highway project to improve connectivity to famous pilgrimage sites in Uttarakhand. The mountainous state, where several Himalayan peaks and glaciers are located, is home to some of the holiest sites for Hindus.

The accident occurred at 05:00 local time (23:30 GMT) on Sunday when a portion of the Silkyara tunnel, around 200m away from its opening, collapsed while the workers were inside, senior police official Arpan Yaduvanshi told BBC Hindi.

A landslide nearby caused heavy debris to fall on the tunnel, leading to its collapse. The mounds of debris cut off oxygen supply to the workers.

Authorities said they established contact with the trapped men on Sunday night using walkie-talkies.

A pipeline, which was laid for supplying water to the tunnel for construction work, is now being used to supply the trapped men with oxygen, food and water, they added.

Rescuers will have to dig through several metres of debris before they can start the evacuations. Excavators and other heavy machines are bring used to dig through the debris.

State Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said national and state disaster relief teams were working together on rescue efforts.

"All the workers trapped inside the tunnel are safe and every effort is being made to get them out soon," a statement from his office said.

Source: BBC

www.bbc.com

Uttarakhand tunnel collapse: Rescuers race to save 40 workers trapped in India tunnel

Officials have established contact with the men and are providing them with food, water and oxygen.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
Click to expand...
Indian rescuers say very close to reaching 41 men trapped in tunnel

INDIA: Rescuers in India are just six or seven metres (20-23 feet) away from 41 men trapped in a collapsed highway tunnel in the Himalayas for more than two weeks, and are confident of drilling through to reach them on Tuesday, officials said.

The men, low-wage workers from India's poorest states, have been stuck in the 4.5 km (3 miles) tunnel in Uttarakhand state since it collapsed on Nov. 12.

So-called rat miners, brought in on Monday to drill through the rocks and gravel by hand after machinery failed, made good progress overnight, officials said.

"About 6 or 7 metres are left," said Deepak Patil, a senior officer leading the rescue, adding that more than 50 metres of an estimated 60 metres of debris had been bored through.

"Sure, 100%," he said when asked if the men could be reached on Tuesday.

The men have been getting food, water, light, oxygen and medicines through a pipe but efforts to dig a tunnel to reach and rescue them with drilling machines have been frustrated by a series of snags.

Rescuers on Monday brought in the "rat miners", experts at a primitive, hazardous and controversial method used mostly to get at coal deposits through narrow passages. Their name comes from their resemblance to burrowing rats.

The tunnel is part of the $1.5 billion Char Dham highway, one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's most ambitious projects, aimed at connecting four Hindu pilgrimage sites through an 890- km network of roads.

Authorities have not said what caused the cave-in but the region is prone to landslides, earthquakes and floods.

tribune.com.pk

Rescuers say very close to reaching 41 men trapped in tunnel | The Express Tribune

Rescuers bring in the 'rat miners'
tribune.com.pk tribune.com.pk
 
European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre says magnitude 7.6 earthquake has struck Mindanao in the Philippines

Sky News
 
Philippines warns of ‘destructive tsunami’ after magnitude 7.6 quake

A powerful magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck the southern Philippines on Saturday, the US Geological Survey said, as local authorities warned of a “destructive tsunami” and urged people in coastal areas to flee.

The quake struck at a depth of 32 kilometres (20 miles) at 10:37 pm local time (1437 GMT) about 21 kilometres northeast of Hinatuan municipality in Surigao del Sur province on Mindanao island, the USGS said.

“Destructive tsunami is expected with life threatening wave heights,” the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said on X, formerly Twitter.

It said waves of more than one metre above the normal tides were expected to hit the coast and advised people in Surigao del Sur and Davao Oriental provinces to “immediately evacuate” to higher ground or further inland.

Owners of boats were told to secure their vessels and move away from the shore.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage but Hinatuan police Sergeant Joseph Lambo said the quake was “very strong”.



www.brecorder.com

Philippines warns of ‘destructive tsunami’ after magnitude 7.6 quake

MANILA: A powerful magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck the southern Philippines on Saturday, the US Geological Survey...
www.brecorder.com
 
Eleven hikers have been found dead near the crater of Indonesia's Marapi volcano after it erupted over the weekend, rescuers say.

Three people were rescued on Monday. The search for 12 others missing has been suspended due to a small eruption.

There were 75 hikers in the area at the time of the eruption but most were safely evacuated.

Mount Marapi, one of Indonesia's 127 active volcanoes, spewed ash as high as 3km (9,800ft) into the air on Sunday.

Authorities have imposed the second-highest alert level and prohibited residents from going within 3km of the crater.

The three people rescued, who were also found near the crater, were "weak and had some burns", said Abdul Malik, head of the Padang Search and Rescue Agency. Forty-nine climbers were evacuated from the area earlier on Monday, many of whom also suffered burns.

Video footage of Sunday's eruption showed a huge cloud of volcanic ash spread widely across the sky, and cars and roads covered with ash.

Rescue workers took turns carrying the dead and the injured down the mountain's arduous terrain and onto waiting ambulances with blaring sirens.

"Some suffered from burns because it was very hot, and they have been taken to the hospital," said Rudy Rinaldi, head of the West Sumatra Disaster Mitigation Agency.

One of the rescued hikers moaned in pain and said "God is great" as she piggybacked on a rescuer, AFP news agency reported.

Jodi Haryawan, spokesperson for the local search and rescue team, told reporters that it would be "too dangerous" to continue searching while the volcano was erupting.

The 2,891m (9,485ft) high Mount Marapi is located on Indonesia's westernmost Sumatra island.

The Indonesian archipelago sits on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity.

Source: BBC

www.bbc.com

Mount Marapi: Eleven hikers killed as volcano erupts in Indonesia

Another 12 hikers are missing after Sumatra's Mount Marapi shot huge ash column into the air on Sunday.
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Heavy rains lash India's coasts as they brace for a powerful storm

Heavy rains and strong winds pelted India's southern and eastern coastlines on Monday and states were put on high alert after a deep depression over the Bay of Bengal intensified into a powerful storm, authorities said.

Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh states in the south and Odisha in the east braced for flooding as authorities issued warnings for Tropical Cyclone Michuang. It's likely to hit the southern coast on Tuesday with maximum sustained winds of 90-100 kph (56-62 mph) and gusts up to 110 kph (68 mph), the Indian Meteorological Department said.

The storm could make landfall on Tuesday afternoon close to Bapatla in Andhra Pradesh state, said the head of the department, Mrutyunjay Mohapatra.

The Andhra Pradesh state government shut schools on Monday while authorities in Tamil Nadu declared a public holiday in four districts that are likely to bear the brunt of the downpours. In the eastern state of Odisha, a number of districts experienced heavy rain, which authorities said could intensify on Tuesday.

The Hindu newspaper reported that officials evacuated nearly 2,000 people from coastal and low-lying villages in Andhra Pradesh state, with instructions to move over 7,000 more to safer areas.

In Tamil Nadu's capital, Chennai, strong rains submerged roads and cars in knee-deep waters that flooded parts of the city as members of India's National Disaster Response Force began evacuating those in low-lying areas.

Videos showed water streaming onto the city's airport tarmac, forcing authorities to shut it down and divert more than 30 flights while around 70 were canceled, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.

India's weather department said parts of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh were likely to see over 200 millimeters (8 inches) of rain over the next 24 hours.

Authorities in Tamil Nadu over the weeked had deployed their own disaster response force and set up nearly 5,000 relief camps in coastal areas.

Tamil Nadu’s chief minister, M.K. Stalin, said the state was ready to face the storm with authorities deployed to vulnerable areas, and asked the public to stay indoors until it subsided.



abcnews.go.com

Heavy rains lash India's coasts as they brace for a powerful storm

Heavy rains and strong winds are pelting India’s southern and eastern coastlines and states have been put on high alert after a deep depression over the Bay of Bengal intensified into a powerful storm
abcnews.go.com abcnews.go.com
 

Mount Marapi:: Indonesia volcano death toll rises to 22​

The death toll from a volcanic eruption in Indonesia has gone up to 22, after rescuers found nine more bodies.

The search for the 10 missing hikers on Mount Marapi resumed on Tuesday after being paused due to safety worries.

Officials said that nine bodies had been recovered by afternoon, with one of them still missing. Twelve other injured hikers are undergoing treatment in hospital.

Frequent volcanic eruptions have hampered rescue efforts for days.

Ahmad Rifandi, head of Marapi's monitoring post, told AFP news agency that five eruptions had been recorded on Tuesday alone.

"Marapi is still very much active. We can't see the height of the column because it's covered by the cloud," he said.

Rescuers told BBC News Indonesia they have been taking advantage of windows of relative calm to look for the missing and efforts to look for the last missing hiker would resume on Wednesday.

The volcano spewed a 3km (9,800ft) ash cloud into the air on Sunday, shrouding surrounding villages in ash.

There were 75 hikers in the area during the eruption, most of whom have been evacuated and received treatment for burns.

Mount Marapi, which means "Mountain of Fire", is among the most active of Indonesia's 127 volcanoes and is also popular among hikers. Some trails reopened only last June due to ash eruptions from January to February. Marapi's deadliest eruption occurred in 1979, when 60 people died.

Video footage of Sunday's eruption showed a huge cloud of volcanic ash spread widely across the sky, and cars and roads covered with ash.

On Monday, rescuers took turns carrying the dead and the injured down the mountain's arduous terrain and onto waiting ambulances with blaring sirens.

"Some suffered from burns because it was very hot, and they have been taken to the hospital," West Sumatra Disaster Mitigation Agency head Rudy Rinaldi said.

One of the hikers, Zhafirah Zahrim Febrina, appealed to her mother for help in a video message from the volcano. The 19-year-old student, whose nickname is Ife, appeared shocked, her face burnt and her hair matted with thick grey ash.

"Mom, help Ife. This is Ife's situation right now," she said.

She was on a hiking trip in Marapi with 18 school friends and is now in hospital receiving treatment.

Her mother, Rani Radelani, told AFP that her daughter underwent "tremendous trauma".

"She is affected psychologically because she saw her burns, and she also had to endure the pain all night," she said.

Marapi is located on Sumatra, the westernmost and third largest of Indonesia's 18,000 islands. It stands 2,891m (9,485ft) high.

The Indonesian archipelago sits on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity.

Source: BBC
 
Wishing all the injured ones a quick recovery and hopefully the missing person is still alive.
 
Cyclone Michaung makes landfall in India’s south; 9 killed earlier in floods, rain

Cyclone Michaung hit the southern India coast on Tuesday afternoon after torrential rains sent tall waves crashing into coastal towns, submerging roads and killing at least nine people, including a child.

The cyclone made landfall in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh near the town of Bapatla, the weather office said, barrelling in with winds of up to 110 kilometres per hour.

“The landfall process is continuing and is expected to complete during the next three hours,” the Indian Meteorological Department said on social media platform X.

Parts of the state are expected to be pelted with more than 200 millimetres of rain over the next 24 hours, the weather office said earlier, and at least 8,000 people have been evacuated.

A four-year-old boy died in Tirupati district after a wall fell, C. Nagaraju, executive director of the state’s disaster management authority said, while eight people were killed in neighbouring Tamil Nadu state, officials said.



www.dawn.com

Cyclone Michaung makes landfall in India’s south; 9 killed earlier in floods, rain

Parts of Andhra Pradesh state are expected to be pelted with more than 200 millimetres of rain over the next 24 hours.
www.dawn.com
 
Thousands urged to higher ground as Australia battles floods

Australian authorities on Sunday urged thousands of people in north Queensland state to move to higher ground because of the danger of flooding from torrential rains.

Queensland authorities said major flooding was underway in some suburbs of Cairns, a tourist hub of around 170,000 people located around 1,700 km (1,060 miles) north of state capital Brisbane.

"Properties in these areas may continue to experience flooding with the approaching high tide and continued rainfall. Residents should move to higher ground now," Queensland Fire and Emergency Services said on its website in one of several emergency alerts for parts of north Queensland.

The flooding came with heavy rain from ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper, which hit the region this week, leaving tens of thousands without power and forcing evacuations.

Australia's weather forecaster predicted "dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding" in Cairns - a gateway to the Great Barrier Reef - and said water levels later on Sunday could exceed a 1971 record flood peak of 4.1m (13.45 feet).

Cairns Local Disaster Management Group said homes, buildings, roads and bridges had been inundated.



tribune.com.pk

Thousands urged to higher ground as Australia battles floods | The Express Tribune

Floods in Queensland, Australia, prompt urgent evacuation calls as heavy rain from ex-Cyclone Jasper hits the region
tribune.com.pk tribune.com.pk
 
At least eight people were killed and 84 injured following a blast at an oil terminal in Guinea’s capital Conakry early on Monday, a senior police officer told Reuters.

The officer said the toll was provisional, adding that the blaze was being contained.

The blast at the West African nation’s only oil terminal, rocked the Kaloum administrative district in downtown Conakry, blowing out the windows of several nearby homes and forcing hundreds to flee the area, witnesses said.

AFP reports that the fire began not long after midnight.

The blast at the West African nation’s only oil terminal, rocked the Kaloum administrative district in downtown Conakry, blowing out the windows of several nearby homes and forcing hundreds to flee the area, witnesses said.

AFP reports that the fire began not long after midnight.

A huge fire and billowing black smoke could be seen from miles away as firefighters rushed to the area, while several tanker trucks left the depot, escorted by soldiers and police.

In a statement, the government announced the closure of schools in the capital and urged workers to stay at home.

"Private and public sector workers are asked to stay home” and “public and private schools have been closed”, the statement said. The cause of the fire remains unknown, officials said, and its “scale and consequences could have a direct impact on the population”.

Guinea is not an oil producer and has no oil refining capacity. It imports refined products, which are mostly stored in the Kaloum terminal and distributed via trucks across the country. The extent of the damage to the terminal remains unclear.

Source: Al Jazeera

www.aljazeera.com

Eight people dead in Guinea oil terminal blast, say police

The blast occurred in downtown Conakry, at the only oil terminal in the West African country.
www.aljazeera.com www.aljazeera.com
 
Deadly storm batters Northeastern US, knocking out power, grounding flights and flooding roads

A storm barreled into the Northeastern U.S. on Monday, flooding roads and downing trees, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands, forcing flight cancellations and school closures, and killing at least four people.

More than 5 inches (13 centimeters) of rain fell in parts of New Jersey and northeastern Pennsylvania by mid-morning, and parts of several other states got more than 4 inches (10 centimeters), according to the National Weather Service. Wind gusts reached nearly 70 mph (113 kph) along the southern New England shoreline.

Power was knocked out for hundreds of thousands of customers in an area stretching from Virginia north through New England, including over 278,000 in Massachusetts and 350,000 in Maine, according to poweroutage.us.

The weather service issued flood and flash-flood warnings for New York City and the surrounding area, parts of Pennsylvania, upstate New York, western Connecticut, western Massachusetts and parts of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.



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Deadly storm batters Northeastern US, knocking out power, grounding flights and flooding roads

A storm barreled up the East Coast on Monday, flooding roads and downing trees, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands, and forcing flight cancellations and school closures.
apnews.com apnews.com
 
China earthquake: Nearly 120 killed; President Xi Jinping calls for 'all-out' efforts. 10 updates

At least 116 people were killed and nearly 400 others injured when a powerful 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck China's Gansu and Qinghai provinces, a remote mountainous region, just before midnight, the local earthquake relief headquarters said on Tuesday.

According to the China Earthquake Networks Centre, the shallow earthquake jolted Gansu and Qinghai provinces at 11:59pm on Monday, with a focal depth of 10 kilometres. The epicentre of the earthquake Liugou township is about 8 kilometres from the county seat of Jishishan Bao'an, Dongxiang, Sala autonomous county in Linxia Hui autonomous prefecture in Gansu.

Latest updates on China earthquake:

1. At least 105 were killed and almost 400 injured in Gansu province, local officials said, after the strong, shallow tremor struck around midnight.

2. According to state broadcaster CCTV, 11 others were killed and 100 injured in the city of Haidong in the neighbouring province of Qinghai.

3. The quake brought homes crashing down and caused other significant damage, sending people running into the street for safety, state news agency Xinhua said. The quake has damaged 6,381 houses in Jishishan.

4. Chinese President Xi Jinping issued important instructions regarding the earthquake, demanding full-scale search and rescue efforts, proper resettlement of affected people, and maximum efforts to ensure the safety of people's lives and property. Premier Li Qiang also issued instructions.

5. Experts said shallow quakes cause heavy damage to infrastructure. Qinghai province is adjacent to the Tibet Himalayan region which is prone to frequent earthquakes due to shifting of continental plates.

6. A second quake struck the neighbouring Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region hours later on Tuesday.

7. As many as 32 aftershocks were recorded, with the largest registering a magnitude of 4.0, said Han Shujun, a spokesperson for the provincial emergency management department, at the press conference.

8. The provincial fire and rescue department sent 580 rescuers aided with 88 fire engines, 12 search and rescue dogs, and more than 10,000 sets of equipment to the disaster area.

9. Footage from CCTV showed family possessions visible among strewn masonry from a house that caved in during the quake.

10. The temperature in Linxia, Gansu, near where the quake occurred, was about minus 14 degrees Celsius on Tuesday morning. Most of China is grappling with freezing temperatures as a cold wave that started last week continued to sweep through the country.
​
SOURCE: HINDUSTANTIMES
 
BouncerGuy said:
China earthquake: Nearly 120 killed; President Xi Jinping calls for 'all-out' efforts. 10 updates

At least 116 people were killed and nearly 400 others injured when a powerful 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck China's Gansu and Qinghai provinces, a remote mountainous region, just before midnight, the local earthquake relief headquarters said on Tuesday.

According to the China Earthquake Networks Centre, the shallow earthquake jolted Gansu and Qinghai provinces at 11:59pm on Monday, with a focal depth of 10 kilometres. The epicentre of the earthquake Liugou township is about 8 kilometres from the county seat of Jishishan Bao'an, Dongxiang, Sala autonomous county in Linxia Hui autonomous prefecture in Gansu.

Latest updates on China earthquake:

1. At least 105 were killed and almost 400 injured in Gansu province, local officials said, after the strong, shallow tremor struck around midnight.

2. According to state broadcaster CCTV, 11 others were killed and 100 injured in the city of Haidong in the neighbouring province of Qinghai.

3. The quake brought homes crashing down and caused other significant damage, sending people running into the street for safety, state news agency Xinhua said. The quake has damaged 6,381 houses in Jishishan.

4. Chinese President Xi Jinping issued important instructions regarding the earthquake, demanding full-scale search and rescue efforts, proper resettlement of affected people, and maximum efforts to ensure the safety of people's lives and property. Premier Li Qiang also issued instructions.

5. Experts said shallow quakes cause heavy damage to infrastructure. Qinghai province is adjacent to the Tibet Himalayan region which is prone to frequent earthquakes due to shifting of continental plates.

6. A second quake struck the neighbouring Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region hours later on Tuesday.

7. As many as 32 aftershocks were recorded, with the largest registering a magnitude of 4.0, said Han Shujun, a spokesperson for the provincial emergency management department, at the press conference.

8. The provincial fire and rescue department sent 580 rescuers aided with 88 fire engines, 12 search and rescue dogs, and more than 10,000 sets of equipment to the disaster area.

9. Footage from CCTV showed family possessions visible among strewn masonry from a house that caved in during the quake.

10. The temperature in Linxia, Gansu, near where the quake occurred, was about minus 14 degrees Celsius on Tuesday morning. Most of China is grappling with freezing temperatures as a cold wave that started last week continued to sweep through the country.

SOURCE: HINDUSTANTIMES​
Click to expand...
An earthquake of magnitude 5.5 struck China's northwestern Xinjiang region, the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC) said on Tuesday. This comes hours after a magnitude-6.2 earthquake in a cold and mountainous region in northwestern China killed at least 111 people.

Local authorities in China's Gansu province said on Tuesday that, as of 7:50 am, 105 were killed in a magnitude-6.2 earthquake and over 4,700 houses were damaged. As of 9:30am, the earthquake had injured 397, they said at a news conference.

SOURCE: HINDUSTANTIMES​
 
Iceland volcano erupts near town after weeks of quake activity

OSLO: A volcano erupted late on Monday in southwest Iceland, spewing lava and smoke across a wide area after weeks of intense earthquake activity, the country's Meteorological Office said, threatening a nearby town.

Fearing a significant eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula, authorities last month evacuated the nearly 4,000 inhabitants of the fishing town of Grindavik and closed the nearby Blue Lagoon geothermal spa.

"Warning: Eruption has started north of Grindavik by Hagafell," the Met Office said on its website, noting that the eruption began only a few kilometres from the town and cracks in the ground stretched toward the village located about 40 km (25 miles) south-west of Iceland's capital city Reykjavik.

Reykjavik's nearby Keflavik International Airport remained open, albeit with numerous delays listed for both arrivals and departures.

Images and livestreams of the eruption shown by Reuters and others showed molten rock spewing spectacularly from fissures in the ground, their bright-yellow and orange colours set in sharp contrast against the dark night sky.

"Seismic activity together with measurements from GPS devices indicate that the magma is moving to the southwest and the eruption may continue in the direction of Grindavik," the Met Office said.

Some 100 to 200 cubic metres (3,530 to 7,060 cubic feet) of lava emerged per second, several times more than in previous eruptions in the area, the Met Office said.

Local police said they had raised their alert level as a result of the outbreak and the country's civil defence warned the public not to approach the area while emergency personnel assessed the situation.

Located between the Eurasian and the North American tectonic plates, among the largest on the planet, Iceland is a seismic and volcanic hot spot as the two plates move in opposite directions.

But eruptions are still hard to predict. In mid-November, Grindavik inhabitants were whisked from their homes in the middle of the night as the ground shook, roads cracked and buildings suffered structural damage.

Seismologists believed at the time an eruption was imminent, but the geological activity later eased.

The Reykjanes peninsula in recent years saw several eruptions in unpopulated areas.

In March 2021, lava fountains erupted from a fissure in the ground measuring between 500 to 750 metres (1,640 to 2,460 feet) long in the region's Fagradalsfjall volcanic system.

Volcanic activity in the area continued for six months that year, prompting thousands of Icelanders and tourists to visit the scene. In August 2022, a three-week eruption happened in the same area, followed by another in July of this year.
​
tribune.com.pk

Iceland volcano erupts near town after weeks of quake activity | The Express Tribune

Some 100 to 200 cubic metres of lava emerges per second, several times more than in previous eruption
tribune.com.pk tribune.com.pk
 
Rescue efforts for survivors of an earthquake that killed at least 131 in China's north-west are coming to an end.

Authorities on Wednesday said they were wrapping up operations and would now focus on treating the injured and helping those who lost their homes.

The 6.2 magnitude quake hit Gansu province Monday night, injuring nearly 1,000 in the mountainous region.

Thousands of workers have been operating in sub-zero temperatures.

Temperatures hit -13C (8.7F) on Tuesday, Chinese media reported. Large parts of northern China are caught in a cold snap, with many cities reporting record low temperatures.

Sixteen people remain missing in neighbouring Qinghai province, to the south of Gansu.

Local officials in Jishishan county, the worst-hit in Gansu province, said more than 5,000 buildings in the area had been damaged.

Many other buildings in the province were hit by mudslides triggered by the quake, while roads were damaged by landslides.

Pictures from the region showed entire villages split by the quake, as well as collapsed buildings and houses.

Residents who fled their homes were also shown huddling over makeshift fires at hastily erected evacuation camps.

Survivors said the tremors had felt like "being tossed by surging waves" and recalled rushing out of their apartments.

"I woke my family up and we rushed down all 16 floors in one breath," said one man named Mr Qin by Chinese outlets.

Monday's quake was reported as China's deadliest earthquake since 2014, when more than 600 people were killed by a quake in south-western Yunnan province.

Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered thousands of firemen, soldiers and policemen, as well as medical personnel, to the region, which is among the poorest and most diverse in China.

Gansu lies between the Tibetan and Loess plateaus and borders Mongolia. The remote region is one of China's poorest and most ethnically diverse.

The epicentre of the quake was in Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, home to many Chinese Muslim groups, including the Hui, Bonan, Dongxiang and Salar people.

Chinese authorities said the quake measured 6.2 on the Richter scale, while the US Geological Survey (USGS) recorded a magnitude of 5.9 and depth of 10km (6 miles). Dozens of smaller aftershocks followed the initial quake. Officials also warned of possible tremors with a magnitude of more than 5.0 in the coming days.

Officials had told the BBC on Monday they had limited time to rescue people in the sub-zero conditions.

"It is too cold to bear... it's -15C [here]," Wang Yi, chief commander of the Blue Sky Rescue Team, told the BBC. Blue Sky is China's largest non-governmental humanitarian organisation, with more than 30,000 volunteers across the country.

Mr Wang said he expected the number of casualties to climb. "We now need to dig deeper [into the rubble]. But there are no big buildings in the area. So it will rise, but it won't be much," he said.

President Xi has said "all efforts should be made to carry out search and rescue, treat the injured in a timely manner, and minimise casualties".

China sits in a region where a number of tectonic plates - notably the Eurasian, Indian and Pacific plates - meet. It is particularly prone to earthquakes.

An earthquake in Yushu in Qinghai province, which is next to Gansu, claimed almost 2,700 lives in 2010.

China's most devastating earthquake in recent decades was in the south-western province of Sichuan in 2008 when 87,000 people were killed.

Source: BBC

www.google.com

Gansu earthquake: Authorities nearing end of rescues as more than 130 killed

Chinese authorities say rescue operations are wrapping up in order to focus on helping survivors.
www.google.com
 

Iceland volcano: 'We're worried our village will disappear from map'​

In normal years, the Christmas lights around Iceland's capital, Reykjavik, would steal the show.

Huge effort is poured into the festive illuminations.

But this December, the violent light and sound show that erupted along the Reykjanes peninsula has overshadowed everything.

"It's a bit stressful," says 63-year-old Andrzej, with an understatement characteristic of many we meet.

The former fisherman was among the 4,000 residents of Grindavik who were evacuated last month over fears the volcano would blow.

"It's a wonderful, great town. But we're always very worried Grindavik will disappear from the map."

Iceland has been braced for volcanic activity around its south-west coast for weeks, as the area has been experiencing an uptick in earthquake activity.

The volcano finally erupted on Monday night.

A police officer near the volcano spoke to the BBC on Wednesday morning.

She said nobody is currently allowed near the volcano - only scientists and responders accompanied by the police.

That's because it's too dangerous, and the terrain is unpredictable.

"Now, the priority for the police is to try and save the town of Grindavik as it could be damaged by the lava. We are working on a plan on how to do that," said the police officer.

"We will probably go back to people's houses and pick up their most important belongings. It will not be today, as it's too dangerous - likely tomorrow.

"The people who have been evacuated will almost certainly not be allowed to return home in time for Christmas," she said.

On Wednesday, we met Andrzej - who is originally from Poland - at a counselling session at a centre run by local authorities and the Red Cross.

"They're really great here," he said. "Today I've been talking to a social worker, which I'm finding really helpful."

Despite the emotional toll of experiencing four volcano eruptions here, he says he won't abandon his town.

"No, I'm not afraid of going back. If it starts to shake again, I'm just going to leave. "

Inside the centre, a boy and a girl play in a soft area. There's Lego, cuddly dinosaurs and crayons.

Cake, fruit salads and coffee await the parents who come here and try to plan the next few weeks of their upended lives.

It's here that we meet father-of-three Eggert Solberg Jonsson.

"I think many were afraid to see the images and the videos, but the kids in Grindavik are used to it"

Eggert works as an official in the area that's been evacuated and says the main priority is looking after the 500 children aged six to 16 at the elementary school.

"We are living in a place where there's lava all around the town. And it is what it is, living in Iceland. There are threats in every town. Our threat is this volcano."

Eggert's wife is a teacher at the school. They have been trying to find alternative accommodation with their two sons, aged five and 11, and their eight-year-old daughter in the five weeks since they were evacuated.

"We are fortunate that some friends have just said we can stay until the spring so the next few months," he explains.

"Not all people are as lucky as we are - but the safety net here is strong."

Eggert says his children are doing incredibly well in the circumstances but says he feels sorry for them being away from home this Christmas.

"But the volcano is part of their lives. They need to go back home and so do we. I hope we can go home as soon as possible.

"This is a unique location and will always be a great place to live."

Source: BBC
 
Storm Pia is expected to cause significant disruption across the UK as "do not travel" advice has been issued, schools have closed and electricians are on standby in case of power cuts.

A yellow weather warning for wind came into effect at midnight and will last until 9pm on Thursday, with gusts of 70mph to 80mph forecast in the far north and northeast of Scotland.

SOURCE: SKY NEWS​
 
Final bodies found after China's most serious earthquake in a decade

BEIJING, Dec 31 (Reuters) - The bodies of the two remaining people missing in the aftermath of China's most serious earthquake in nearly a decade were found on Sunday, a tragedy that has renewed concern over exposed populations in seismically active zones.

That raises official fatalities from the magnitude 6.2 quake that rocked the northwestern provinces of Qinghai and Gansu almost two weeks ago to 151. The final bodies were found in Qinghai at 1:16 a.m. (1716 GMT Saturday), state media reported.

The earthquake, whose epicentre straddled Qinghai and Gansu, was the most serious in China since a magnitude 6.5 temblor struck the southwestern province of Yunnan in 2014 and killed 617 people.

The tragedy in disaster-hit Qinghai and Gansu, home to many Hui people, a tight-knit ethnic minority characterised by its distinctive Muslim identity, has renewed concern over outdated and poorly built homes.

Many of the homes destroyed were made of earth-wood or brick-wood structures. Their load-bearing walls were constructed from earth, providing little defence against any earthquake, say local authorities.

Gansu, Qinghai, Tibet, Xinjiang and the rugged highlands in Sichuan and Yunnan are located on the fringe of the geologically complex Qinghai-Tibet plateau. Many populations living near the edge of the plateau, often atop active fault lines, are rural farmers and herders subsisting on very low incomes.

Han Ting, 33, whose village in Gansu was nearly wrecked by the quake, chose to stay put in an emergency tent set up by relief workers because of fears her partially damaged family home could still collapse on her.

"The prefab house assigned to us is also a bit far, so we still choose to stay here in the tent," said Han, one of the thousands of Hui people who live in the area.

"It's not too cold at the moment, and we aren't lacking in daily necessities, and the children have also resumed school."

Even as life started to resume for Han, she could not help but think of her grandfather, who survived the initial impact of the earthquake but died several days later.

"On the night of the quake, he ran out of the house wrapped in just blankets and hid in a small car," she recounted to Reuters.

In under two weeks, local authorities have built thousands of single-storey prefab homes to help affected families transition from tents as the winter progressed. The quake displaced 145,000 people and destroyed over 200,000 homes.

"Our village was one of the more severely hit," said Han.

"The government said homes that have collapsed will be rebuilt and homes that have been damaged will be repaired. But we don't when exactly."
​
 
Japan has issued a major tsunami warning after a series of strong earthquakes shook western areas.

The quakes hit Ishikawa and nearby prefectures, with one having a preliminary magnitude of 7.6, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

It issued a major tsunami warning for Ishikawa and lower-level tsunami warnings or advisories for the rest of the north-western coast of the island of Honshu.

Hokuriku Electric Power said it was checking for any irregularities at its nuclear power plants, Japanese broadcaster NHK said.

Waves of up to 5m high are believed to be reaching Noto in Ishikawa, according to the meteorological agency.

NHK urged people to flee to high land or the top of a nearby building as quickly as possible.
 
Floods and snow hit Northwest Europe after latest Atlantic storm

Parts of northwestern Europe struggled on Wednesday to cope with the impact of the latest in a series of Atlantic storms which dumped rain or snow on already saturated ground, while northern Scandinavia experienced extreme cold.

In northern France, rescue crews helped evacuate residents from inundated homes in the town of Arques in the Pas de Calais department, a region that had flooded for the second time in two months after heavy rainfall.

Another 20-40 millimetres (0.85-1.7 inches) of rain was expected within hours, and a red alert indicated that the river Aa was close to breaking its banks.

"The first time, you think it's had luck, but the second time, it starts to hit your morale and your wallet," said Arques resident Anthony Richevin as he was being evacuated. "You start wondering about the future."

There are no large-scale evacuations planned in the region for the time being, Van Cauter added.

A ferry travelling from Norway to Denmark with about 900 passengers aboard was unable to dock in Copenhagen because of the storm and was waiting for the wind to drop although that may not happen before Thursday morning, shipping company DFDS said.

In Norway, the southern town of Kristiansand said it had closed its schools and cancelled all public buses following heavy snowfall.

The same storm, labelled Henk on either side of the North Sea, brought gales and heavy rain to parts of England and Wales on Tuesday, causing power outages, disrupting train travel and forcing the closure of major roads because of flooding.

Trees were blown onto roads and rail tracks, killing one motorist in southwestern England.

A 59-year-old woman died in Belgium's East Flanders province on Tuesday after being hit by a blown-away fence during a period of heavy rainfall in the country, local governor Carina Van Cauter said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Arctic village of Kvikkjokk recorded an overnight temperature of -43.6 Celsius (-46.5 Fahrenheit), Sweden's coldest for the month of January in 25 years, the Swedish Met Office said.

In Lapland in northern Finland, a woman went missing in a blizzard while out skiing on Tuesday and was later found dead in an avalanche. A search was continuing on Wednesday for her child, Finnish police said.

Source: Reuters

 
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Japan earthquake death toll exceeds 100, with hundreds still missing​

WAJIMA, Japan, Jan 6 (Reuters) - The confirmed death toll from the New Year's Day earthquake in Japan reached 110 on Saturday as a search for survivors in the rubble of collapsed buildings entered a sixth day.

The magnitude 7.6 quake struck the west coast, destroying infrastructure and snapping power links to 22,000 homes in the Hokuriku region. Rain hampered efforts to sift the rubble for survivors as more than 30,000 evacuees awaited aid.

The number of confirmed dead was 110 by 4 p.m. (0700 GMT) on Saturday, up from 94 the previous day, the Ishikawa government website showed. More than 200 people are still missing after the deadliest quake in nearly eight years.

"I am keenly aware of the extent of the damage caused," Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said as the toll crossed 100.

The figure is the highest since a toll of 276 in quakes in 2016 in the southwestern region of Kumamoto, a tally that includes related deaths.

Kishida told government officials to speed up emergency efforts to restore trunk roads ripped up by the quake so that rescue and relief activities can be increased.

Japan's Self-Defence Forces is set to reinforce the number of rescue staff by 400 to 5,400, with road disruptions among the obstacles hindering delivery of relief supplies.

Mudslides, boulders and road cracks left dozens of remote communities in Ishikawa prefecture isolated. In Wajima's Fukamimachi district, helicopters from the Self-Defence Forces airlifted at least 14 residents to safety, according to a Reuters witness.

Freelance cameraman Masao Mochizuki, 73, stood in a long queue outside a supermarket in the regional city of Wajima after it re-opened on Thursday, waiting to buy necessities.

"It is such a help that they have managed to re-open," Mochizuki told Reuters after buying a box of heat patches, blue plastic sheets to cover broken windows and a pair of shoes to protect against glass shards that litter the floors of his home.

"But I don't see the road to reconstruction just yet," Mochizuki added, his voice cracking with emotion.

Source: Reuters
 
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