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Malayalam superstar Mohanlal visits landslide-hit Wayanad in Army uniform

Mohanlal, who was conferred the Lt Colonel post in the territorial army in 2009, was spotted donning his army uniform as he reached the Army camp at Meppadi

Himachal cloudburst: 53 still missing, six bodies recovered so far

Special Secretary DC Rana of the DDMA said that over sixty houses were washed away and several villages have been severely affected by the floods

Centre issues fresh ESA draft for Western Ghats following Wayanad disaster

The Centre has issued a fresh draft notification to declare over 56,800 square kilometres of the Western Ghats across six states, including 13 villages in Kerala's landslide-hit Wayanad, an Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA), inviting suggestions and objections within 60 days. The notification, issued on July 31, came a day after a series of landslides claimed over 300 lives in Wayanad district. Scientists from Kerala and beyond attribute the disaster to a deadly mix of forest cover loss, mining in the fragile terrain and climate change. The draft notification proposes to declare 9,993.7 sq km in Kerala, including 13 villages in two talukas of the landslide-hit district, as ecologically sensitive. These villages are Periya, Thirunelli, Thondernad, Thrissilery, Kidanganad and Noolpuzha in Mananthavady taluka, and Achooranam, Chundel, Kottappadi, Kunnathidavaka, Pozhuthana, Thariyod and Vellarimala in Vythiri taluka. The July 30 landslides affected Mundakkai, Chooralmala, and Attamal

Death toll rises to 308 in Wayanad landslides, rescue operations underway

Rescue and relief operations coordinated by the Army, NDRF, SDRF and civil administration are underway

Wayanad landslides: 40 teams of rescuers commence search operations

Braving rains and adverse terrain, 40 teams of rescuers began search operations in landslide-hit Wayanad district on the fourth day on Friday, officials said. The search and rescue operations that got underway early morning received an impetus due to the completion of the 190-foot-long Bailey bridge that will enable the movement of heavy machinery, including excavators, and ambulances to the worst-affected Mundakkai and Chooralmala hamlets, they said. The 40 teams will conduct search operations in six zones of the landslides-hit areas -- Attamala and Aaranmala (first), Mundakkai (second), Punchirimattam (third), Vellarimala village (fourth), GVHSS Vellarimala (fifth), and riverbank (sixth). The joint teams will include personnel from the army, NDRF, DSG, Coast Guard, Navy, and MEG along with three locals and one forest department employee. In addition to this, a three-pronged search operation will begin, focusing on the Chaliyar River, according to the rescue plan devised by the ..

Heavy rains wash out roads in Rudraprayag, NDRF-SDRF on high alert

The Rudrapryag Police also alerted all pilgrims in the Rudraprayag district to be safe and postpone their Kedarnath Dham Yatra

Wayanad landslides: 123 dead, armed forces deployed; IMD predicts more rain

According to the latest information, a total of 250 people have been evacuated from the landslide affected areas of the hilly district

After 7 hr long search op at flooded Delhi centre, NDRF recovers 3 bodies

After seven hours of rescue efforts, the NDRF has ended its search at the coaching centre in Delhi's Old Rajinder Nagar area where three civil services aspirants died last night when the basement of the building was flooded following heavy rains, officials said on Sunday. Students held a protest and raised slogans against authorities outside the coaching centre over the deaths in the basement, which according to preliminary probe houses a library. Deputy Commissioner of Police (central) M Harsha Vardhan said, "NDRF's search operation has ended and three bodies have been recovered. NDRF's rescue operation went on for around seven hours." Police is looking at CCTV footage to understand the sequence of events, the DCP said. The bodies of two female students and a male student were retrieved from the site during the rescue operation by the NDRF, local police and fire department. Police is yet to reveal the names of the victims. According to the Delhi Fire Department (DFS), a call ab

Four-storey building collapses in Navi Mumbai; 2 rescued, 3 feared trapped

A four-storey residential building collapsed in Navi Mumbai's CBD Belapur area early on Saturday and two persons were rescued, while a search operation is underway to find three others who are feared trapped under the rubble, officials said. The incident occurred at 4.10 am in Shahbaz village, they said. "The four-storey building with several residential units and three shops collapsed early this morning. Fifty-two residents, including 13 children, were evacuated. A man and a woman who were trapped under the rubble were rescued and admitted to a hospital, while search efforts continue for the remaining individuals," Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) Commissioner Kailas Shinde said. The collapsed building was just 10 years old, he said. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and personnel of the civic body's fire brigade rescued the two persons and carrying out the extricate the others. The rescued persons were identified as Lal Mohammad (22) and Rukhsana (21), while a

Over 100 stranded in UP flash floods after Nepal releases 'excess' water

Rescue teams evacuated over 100 villagers who were stranded in flash floods after Nepal released an excessive amount of water that resulted in flooding in Ghaghra river here, officials said on Saturday. The residents of Chahalwa village, close to India-Nepal border, were stranded in the agricultural fields situated on the other side of river Ghaghra near the border, they said. In a statement issued on Saturday, the office of the Relief Commissioner of UP said the farmers and labourers of the village daily cross the river for agricultural work. On Friday, 115 villagers had gone to the fields during which the water level was low, the statement said. At around 6 pm, due to the excessive amount of water released from Nepal, the water level of the river increased, trapping the villagers. As the river swelled up, 63 people managed to be brought out safely by boats, but the remaining villagers were stuck in the fields, it said. According to the statement, the rescue operation with the he

Heavy rains lash Mumbai, NDRF deploys teams to 'avert' flood-like situation

The teams have been deployed in Thane, Vasai ( Palghar), Mahad (Raigad), Chiplun (Ratnagiri), Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara Ghatkopar, Kurla and Sindhudurg

Assam flood situation remains critical, over 1,150,000 people affected

Assam continues to grapple with a severe flood crisis, affecting 11.50 lakh people across 23 districts, as the water level of major rivers, including the Brahmaputra and its tributaries, flowing above the danger mark, an official report said. The death toll in this year's floods, landslides and storms has increased to 48. On Tuesday, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma visited Golaghat district following breach of embankments, inspected flood-hit areas, interacted with the suffering population and held meetings with officials to provide relief and rehabilitation to people reeling under the deluge. Sarma is scheduled to hold a cabinet meeting on Wednesday to review the flood situation prevailing in the various districts. The current second wave of floods have affected Barpeta, Biswanath, Cachar, Charaideo, Chirang, Darrang, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Jorhat, Kamrup Metropolitan, Karbi Anglong, Karimganj, Lakhimpur, Majuli, Morigaon, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sivasagar, Sonitpur, Tamulpur,

Govt approves 40% hardship & risk allowance for NDRF rescuers: Amit Shah

The Union government has approved a 40 per cent hardship and risk allowance for NDRF rescuers, keeping in mind the tough operations undertaken by them, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced on Saturday. He said this while welcoming a 35-member expedition team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) that recently scaled the 21,625-foot-high Mt Manirang in Himachal Pradesh. "The government has approved a 40 per cent risk and hardship allowance for NDRF personnel only yesterday. This has been a long pending demand... All the 16,000 personnel of the force will benefit from this," Shah said after welcoming the expedition named 'Vijay'. Officials said this allowance would be granted over and above salaries. Special forces like the National Security Guard (NSG) and the Special Protection Group (SPG) get a 25 per cent hardship allowance owing to the special charter of their duties. This is the second mountaineering expedition undertaken by the federal contingency force. The team w

Wall collapses in Delhi's Vasant Vihar, labourers feared trapped in slush

A few labourers are feared trapped after an under-construction wall collapsed in southwest Delhi's Vasant Vihar area, officials said on Friday. According to the officials of the Delhi Fire Service (DFS), a call regarding a wall collapse was received at 5.30 am and two fire tenders were pressed into service. Some construction workers are feared to be trapped in the mud slush but the exact numbers are yet to be ascertained, a senior police officer said. Rescue teams of NDRF, DDMA, civics agencies, fire and police are on the spot and efforts are underway to rescue them, he added. Heavy rain lashed Delhi early Friday, causing waterlogging in various areas and heavy traffic jams on the roads.

Over 200 tourists evacuated from Sikkim's Lachung, 1,000 still stranded

Fifteen more stranded tourists were evacuated from Lachung and adjoining regions of Sikkim's landslides-hit Mangan district on Tuesday, officials said. The district administration along with Border Roads Organisation (BRO), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and other volunteers are taking the stranded tourists to safer grounds, officials said. More tourists are likely to be evacuated and moved to safer places as the day progresses, they said. Sixty-four tourists were evacuated from North Sikkim's Lachung on Monday and moved to Mangan town, officials said. The district administration had to set up log bridges over the slides to facilitate movement by foot and by vehicles where roads were motorable, they said. Incessant rains since June 12 wreaked havoc in Mangan, causing multiple landslides, and severing connectivity to most parts of the district. Due to the blockage of various roads at several locations, around 1,200 tourists got strande

Papua New Guinea govt says landslide buried 2,000; formally asks for help

The Papua New Guinea government said a landslide on Friday buried more than 2,000 people and has formally asked for international help. The government figure is around three times more than a United Nations' estimate of 670. In a letter seen by The Associated Press to the United Nations resident coordinator dated Sunday, the acting director of the South Pacific island nation's National Disaster Center said the landslide buried more than 2000 people alive and caused major destruction. Estimates of the casualties have varied widely since the disaster occurred, and it was not immediately clear how officials arrived the number of people affected. Australia prepared on Monday to send aircraft and other equipment to help at the site of a deadly landslide in Papua New Guinea as overnight rains in the South Pacific nation's mountainous interior raised fears that the tons of rubble that buried hundreds of villagers could become dangerously unstable. Australian Defence Minister Richard Marl

Cyclone Remal: Assam braces for heavy rain, several districts on high alert

Several districts of Assam are on high alert in the wake of forecast for heavy to extremely heavy rainfall from Monday under the impact of Cyclone Remal, which made landfall in neighbouring West Bengal and Bangladesh. The administration has urged people to maintain safety measures, and set up helpline numbers in case of emergency. The Northeast Frontier Railway, in a release, said 42 trains have been cancelled for two days from Monday. Several parts of Assam, including Guwahati, received rainfall since late Sunday evening, bringing down soaring mercury levels in the state. No reports of damage due to the impact of the cyclone have been received yet, official sources said. "Cyclone Remal can bring inclement weather in parts of Assam. We are taking several precautionary measures," Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on X. He added that teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) are on standby and control rooms are operation

Pune boat capsize tragedy: Bodies of 5 found; search on for another victim

The bodies of five out of the six persons, who drowned after their boat capsized in the Ujani dam backwaters in Maharashtra's Pune district, were fished out on Thursday morning, police said. The incident took place on Tuesday evening following strong winds and rains when the boat was sailing from Kugav to Kalashi village, officials earlier said. "We have fished out five bodies so far - of two men, a woman and two children. A team of the National Disaster Response Force and local administration are working to trace the sixth missing person," an official from Indapur police station said. Following strong winds and rains on Tuesday evening, the boat carrying seven persons capsized, an official earlier said. An officer of the assistant police inspector-rank, who was among the seven persons on the boat, swam to safety, he said.

Hoarding crash: 73 damaged vehicles retrieved; debris removal underway

More than 70 vehicles, including cars, were retrieved from the wreckage at the site of a hoarding crash in Mumbai as mangled metal debris at a petrol pump exhibited signs of a tragedy that has claimed 16 lives. Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) commissioner Bhushan Gagrani announced end of the 66-hour-long search and rescue operation at the crash site on Thursday morning, but men and machinery were working overtime to clear the debris four days on. The 120 feet x 120 feet billboard collapsed onto a nearby petrol pump in suburban Ghatkopar during gusty winds and heavy unseasonal rains on Monday evening, trapping people and vehicles under its giant wreckage. As many as 16 people were killed and 75 others were injured in the tragedy. The civic chief called off the rescue operation at 10.30 am after reviewing the situation at the petrol pump, but the the work of clearing the debris was on till late evening with the help of JCB, dumpers, cranes and other equipment. The rescue ...

Mumbai hoarding crash: Rescue operations underway, toll rises to 16

Nearly 55 hours after a huge illegal hoarding crashed on a petrol pump in Ghatkopar area of Mumbai amid gusting winds and rain, search operations were still underway on Wednesday night and the death toll could rise to 16, officials said. So far, 89 persons have been pulled out from under the collapsed hoarding, of whom 14 were declared dead while 75 others were injured. Two more bodies have been located under the debris, but they were yet to be pulled out, officials said. Of the 74 injured persons, 32 have been discharged from hospitals and 42 are still undergoing treatment. Throughout the day, no person was rescued. "Two bodies have been located in a car trapped under the hoarding. Efforts are being made for retrieval of the victims," an NDRF official said. A senior NDRF official told PTI that five interconnected girders of the hoarding were being cut into pieces one by one. "Once the third girder is removed, we will be able to access the area which has been inaccessible so far,