Assam floods

Four people were killed and nine others injured in a flash flood in southwest China on Saturday, local authorities said. Footage published by Chinese media showed water rising rapidly in a river on the outskirts of Sichuan province’s Pengzhou city. Tourists who had been playing in the initially shallow water could be seen running for safety and clambering over rocks as the water rushed towards them, but some were unable to reach the river bank in time. At least one person, a woman stranded on a boulder in the middle of the river, appeared to lose her footing and was swept away by the current, according to a video posted online by the state-owned Beijing Youth Daily. “As of 7.30 pm, the mountain flood has killed four people, severely injured three and lightly injured six others,” Pengzhou emergency response authorities said in a statement. The flood comes during a summer of extreme weather in China, with multiple cities including Shanghai recording their hottest days ever during … [Read more...] about Four Killed, Nine Injured in Flash Flood in Southwest China

Four years after its operation areas, including the runway, were flooded, forcing a fortnight-long closure, Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) hopes that its comprehensive flood mitigation measures since then will help avert a potential repeat of the situation. The airport completed 26 different flood mitigation projects worth ₹120 crore over three years in December 2021. While the extensive system put in place since then remains untested, the airport company remains confident that it may help it face future challenges. A major component of the project was an 8-metre-wide and 3.5-km-long diversion canal taking excess water from the neighbouring Chengal canal to Kuzhipallam during floods. Further investment was made on widening and enhancing the depth of the canal by splitting it into seven different reaches for enhancing their carrying capacity, said CIAL sources. However, since the completion of the canal, it was pressed into service only a couple of hours in August … [Read more...] about CIAL relies on ₹120-crore flood mitigation work to fend off future challenges

Heavy inflow of rainwater into the Hirakud Dam reservoir has led to the opening of a total of 28 sluice gates to release the excess water. A minor flood is anticipated in the Mahanadi basin by the morning of August 15, said Bijaya Kumar Mishra, Engineer-in-Chief, Water Resources. Dam officials informed that the water level stood at 616.91 feet against the full reservoir level of 630 feet. Due to heavy rains for the last three days, the floodwater is being released through 16 gates on the left and eight on the right. The Water Resources has assigned seven officers in seven districts to deal with floods in the state. They will go to the district and work together with the district administration to deal with the flood, said Mishra. Sambalpur District Collector Ananya Das urged the people to not go to those areas as the velocity of the water would be very high. Meanwhile, Cuttack district collector Bhabani Shankar Chayini said Cuttack is ready to combat flood situation if it … [Read more...] about Odisha: Flood-like Situation Expected in Mahanadi; Special Officials Deployed in 7 Districts

Boris Johnson has rejected pleas to hold an emergency budget now to fight the cost-of-living spiral hitting Brits this Autumn. Downing Street said it will be for the next Prime Minister - who only takes office in a month - to decide any new help for Brits to pay energy bills . No10 also dismissed ex-PM Gordon Brown’s plea for COBRA to sit in “permanent session” as the economic storm is unleashed. And the PM’s spokesman said there were no plans to recall Parliament. He said it would be "inappropriate" to say if more needs to be done to help Brits. It comes after the PM and his wife Carrie enjoyed a mini-moon at a “soothing energies” mountain villa where guests dine on bear while officials predicted the worst recession since the 1990s. The lame duck Prime Minister returned last night after four nights at Vila Planinka in Slovenia, which urges guests to ditch their phones and laptops in rooms costing £242 to £542 a night. Vila Planinka in Slovenia, which urges guests … [Read more...] about Boris Johnson rejects pleas to hold emergency budget to fight cost-of-living spiral

T hey live under the busy bridge, where no sane person dares to walk to. There are a thousand vehicles passing by the road where they sleep, but no one notices them. Many are disabled by accidents, while others are disabled by society. If you ever happened to stop at the traffic signal in Mumbai, you would have noticed a large number of beggars on the streets.  People with disabilities and an urge to survive flood the traffic signals as soon as they turn red. Some beggars extend their hands in front of potential donors, hoping that the sorrow on their faces will cause hearts to melt. Others showcase their talent — sing, play an old hand-made instrument, balance on a rope, or even whip oneself. They wear unwashed clothes. They are mainly sick, ageing people with dust, sweat and grease from the place they previously slept covering their clothes. There are families living on the streets for generations in the most desperate conditions. Though they work in other people’s houses to … [Read more...] about Beggars in Mumbai streets

The avalanche seems to starts off slow, like whipped cream melting off a sundae. But the icy flow picks up speed as it heads downhill, crests an embankment and finally explodes into a huge cloud of ice particles that engulfs the hapless videographer — who miraculously survives — in seconds. The extraordinary footage was from a massive glacier collapse in Kyrgyzstan on July 8, and though it did not cause significant injuries, it was the second major avalanche caused by a glacier collapse in a single week. The first, which occurred in Italy’s Dolomites on July 3, killed 11. Could something similar happen in California, home to seven glaciers on Mount Shasta and many more along the crest of the Sierra Nevada? Glaciers are enormous bodies of ice known for moving at a snail’s pace, not careening off mountains like waterfalls. But the video provided a rare and terrifying glimpse into the effect that warming temperatures can have on them. The events in Kyrgyzstan and Italy happened … [Read more...] about Glaciers are collapsing as the world warms. Here are the risks on California’s high peaks

MASK CONFUSION… NY TIMES… DAVID LEONHARDT: A Confusing Message — The C.D.C. recommends indoor masking for the vaccinated, but only in some places. As you can see, most of the Northeast and upper Midwest, as well as much of the West, have only “moderate” or “low” transmission. If that stays true, vaccinated residents in those places can generally remain unmasked, the C.D.C. says. […] Breakthrough infections among the vaccinated appear to be only a modest reason that the number of new cases has been rising, as I explained in Monday’s newsletter. When vaccinated people do get the virus, they are less likely to pass it on to others — and much less likely to get very sick. […] The country was polarized long before Covid. But the C.D.C. has not maximized its chances of being heard, either. That’s the communication problem I mentioned above. Its announcement of the new guidelines was both vague and technical, making it hard for many nonexperts to understand. The agency … [Read more...] about Editor Daily Rundown: Mask Confusion

A kind-hearted volunteer found a “starving” woman who hadn’t eaten in two weeks on ‘millionaire’s row’. Teresa Farrell was left horrified when she discovered a woman starving, despite the fact she lived on a street where the average house price is more than £1million. She runs Push on Wellbeing (POW) in Chelmsey Wood, Solihull, West Midlands, and has seen first hand the dreadful reality of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, Birmingham Live reported . Along with another volunteer, Teresa was called out to a bungalow and when they got there the first thing the woman, in her sixties, said was “I’m starving !”. She claimed the woman hadn’t eaten in two weeks despite living in the “supposed rich part of Solihull,”. Her project, Lily's Tea Parlour, was flooded with donations during the Ukraine refugee crisis but has since seen its supplies run dry ( Image: Darren Quinton/Birmingham Live) Teresa said issues of poverty and food insecurity were often overlooked in … [Read more...] about Volunteer finds ‘starving’ woman who hadn’t eaten in two weeks on ‘millionaire’s row’