downtoearth-subscribe

Natural Disasters

  • Lightning kills 11 in Malda & Siliguri

    Lightning killed 11 persons in north Bengal as a Nor'wester raged through the region this afternoon. Ten of the victims, including a CPM panchayat poll candidate, were from Malda. Taking a break from a hectic campaign schedule, Habibur Rehman, 42, contesting from the Bhado gram panchayat, was sipping tea at a roadside stall, when a bolt from the sky struck him. He died on the spot. Jagannath Mandal, 55, was killed when lightning blew off the roof of his home in Kalichak, while a railway shed in Englishbazar collapsed on 17-year-old Prasenjit Saha.

  • Is global warming to blame for Burma cyclone?

    It was Asia's answer to Hurricane Katrina. Packing winds upwards of 120 mph, Cyclone Nargis became one of Asia's deadliest storms by hitting land at one of the lowest points in Myanmar and setting off a storm surge that reached 25 miles inland. "When we saw the (storm) track, I said, 'Uh oh, this is not going to be good," said Mark Lander, a meteorology professor at the University of Guam. "It would create a big storm surge. It was like Katrina going into New Orleans."

  • Severe storms blast Southeast; head up coast

    An apparent tornado hit a Mississippi shopping mall as a line of severe storms swept across the Southeast and was headed to the Mid-Atlantic today. Portions of Alabama remained under tornado watches until early Thursday evening as the storm moved east over the Mississippi Valley. The system was due to bring severe storms and wind to southern Virginia today. The storm was due in New England by Saturday, the Weather Channel reported.

  • Cyclone in Burma due to climate change: CSE

    Pointing fingers at climate change to be the likely cause of the cyclone Nargis, which killed nearly 22,000 people in Burma, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has cautioned nations to speed up the curtailing of the emission of greenhouse gases.

  • Junta says no to US aid, will let UN enter

    Geneva: The United Nations said on Wednesday it had obtained permission to fly emergency supplies to cyclone-ravaged Myanmar but aid workers were stsill waiting for visas to enter the country.

  • Stop hill cutting, settlement in foothills to avoid disaster

    The technical and expert committee in its report has suggested introduction of a separate and complete rule for preservation and development of hills in Chittagong to avert casualties and damages of properties during landslides. The committee sent the report to cabinet division on April 21 suggesting measures to stop hill cutting and not to allow housing in foothills, said Additional Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) Md Zafar Alam, also member secretary of the committee.

  • Rescue Them (Editorial)

    Politics mustn't come in the way of relief efforts in Myanmar

  • Disaster management act soon

    Law Secretary Habibul Awal yesterday said that the government is formulating a disaster management act with a view to giving the country's disaster management programme an institutional shape. He said a draft of the proposed act is now at the final stage while the views have already been taken from all stakeholders including the Ministry of Law, said a press release. The law secretary was addressing the 2nd day of a three-day workshop, organised by Disaster Management Bureau at the Relief Bhaban.

  • Cyclone could spark fresh protests in Myanmar

    The junta's slow response to the death and destruction wrought by Cyclone Nargis and soaring prices for food and fuel could foment fresh unrest in military-run Myanmar, analysts say. At least 22,000 people are dead and nearly twice as many missing, and aid workers are struggling to get visas to bring life-saving supplies into the country. Food, water and fuel are scarce in storm-ravaged areas including the economic hub and former capital Yangon. Where they are available, prices are beyond the reach of most people in the impoverished country.

  • Erupting Chilean Volcano Could Spew Ash For Months

    Experts believe Chile's Chaiten volcano could continue belching out vast clouds of ash for months but distraught residents evacuated from nearby towns say they yearn to return as soon as possible. Ash that has reached as far as Argentina continued to spew for a sixth day on Wednesday, disrupting flights to the southern Patagonia region with no sign of let-up. "Everything is so uncertain," said Patricio Ide, 40, who was evacuated from the remote village of Chaiten to Puerto Montt, 125 miles (200 km) away from the volcano.

  1. 1
  2. ...
  3. 1311
  4. 1312
  5. 1313
  6. 1314
  7. 1315
  8. ...
  9. 1468