The strongest typhoon to hit Japan in 25 years made landfall Tuesday, the country’s weather agency said, bringing violent winds and heavy rainfall that prompted evacuation warnings. Typhoon Jebi, packing winds of up to 216 kilometres per hour, made landfall around midday in western Japan near areas still recovering from deadly record rains earlier this summer.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe urged people to “evacuate early” and ordered his government to take all necessary measures to protect residents. Japan’s weather agency has issued warnings about possible landslides, flooding and violent winds, as well as high tides, lightning and tornadoes in a swath of western Japan including the major cities of Osaka and Kyoto. With winds of up to 162 kilometres (100 miles) per hour at its centre, Jebi is classed as a “very strong” typhoon, the weather agency’s chief forecaster Ryuta Kurora told AFP. “This is (the strongest) since 1993.”

In the hours before the storm made landfall, Shikoku, one of four Japanese main islands, was already experiencing “violent storms and the storms will get stronger and stronger,” he added. As the storm approached, Abe called a disaster response meeting and cancelled a trip to western Japan. “I urge the Japanese people to take action to protect your lives, including preparing and evacuating early,” he said. He instructed his cabinet to “take all measures possible”.

Local media warned that the wind speeds Jebi is packing are strong enough to bring down traditional-style wooden houses and power poles, and urged people in affected areas to avoid non-essential travel. Evacuation advisories have been issued for more than 300,000 people in western Japan — including 280,000 in the port city of Kobe — with local officials setting up some 1,500 shelters, the central and local governments said in statements.

Primary and middle schools in affected areas are closed for safety reasons, while regional businesses also reacted quickly, with a major railway firm and Universal Studios Japan in Osaka shutting down for Tuesday. Nearly 600 flights were cancelled, including several international flights departing and arriving at Nagoya and Osaka, along with ferries connecting ports in western Japan.

Jebi has a similar trajectory to Typhoon Cimaron, which made landfall on August 23, disrupting transport links but causing limited damage and few injuries. Japan is currently in its annual typhoon season, and is regularly struck by major storm systems during the summer and autumn.

The country has been sweating through a record, deadly heatwave that was preceded by record rainfall in parts of western and central Japan that killed over 200 people.

(IANS)

Heavy rains lashed the Uttar Pradesh capital and its neighbouring areas on Monday affecting normal life as people braced for the Janmashtami celebrations.

It was overcast and windy since morning. At around 11 a.m. it started raining heavily in and around Lucknow, which continued for more than two hours. Many localities were left waterlogged.

Water entered the houses in many places in old Lucknow, Sapru Marg, Narahi, Hariharnagar, Mulayamnagar, Jankipuram, Dubagga and low lying areas in Gomtinagar. Most of it was due to blocked drains, residents said.

Even major roads, intersections were flooded with rain water, bringing the traffic to a halt.

Many people out shopping for Lord Krishna’s birthday on Janmashtami were caught in the heavy downpour. Large crowds gathered under flyovers.

Electricity was deliberately cut off in some areas to avoid accidents, while there were some “technical snags” as well as power cuts were reported from many areas.

Rains were also reported from Barabanki, Pratapgarh, Unnao, Mainpuri, Farrukhabad among others.

Most parts of western Uttar Pradesh, including Noida, Greater Noida, Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat and Meerut received heavy rains since morning. Even the parched district of Bundelkhand was lashed by heavy downpour.

The Regional Met Office has predicted thundershowers and more rains across the state in the next 48 hours till Wednesday.

Three persons were killed in a car pile up in Moradabad due to heavy rains in the regions, police said.

The vehicles skidded and rammed into each other on the Dalpatpur-Kashipur road, killing the three on the spot. Two others were also critically injured.

 Flash floods and landslides triggered by incessant rainfall in Vietnam’s northern and central regions over the past few days have killed 13 people and left three missing, the country’s Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control said on Monday.

As of Monday morning, floods claimed nine lives and left three people missing in central Thanh Hoa province. Meanwhile, floods and landslides killed one person each of the four northern provinces of Hoa Binh, Yen Bai, Son La and Lang Son, Xinhua news agency reported.

The floods and landslides also destroyed 364 houses, damaged over 6,523 hectares of rice and other crops, killed 512 cattle and 56,367 fowls, and damaged 963 hectares of aquaculture ponds, 620 meters of dykes and 6,174 meters of canals, said the committee.

Natural disasters, mostly typhoons, floods and landslides, killed or left missing 153 people and injured 119 others, and caused property losses of over 7,000 billion Vietnamese dong (304.3 million U.S. dollars) in the first eight months of this year, according to Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

(IANS)

Akshay Kumar starrer “Gold” will be the first Hindi film which will be releasing in Saudi Arabia, the National Award-winning actor says.

An “excited” Akshay tweeted on Thursday night: “The story of India’s first Gold medal victory for the first time in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Happy to share, ‘Gold’ is the first ever Bollywood movie to release in the Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia, in cinemas from today!”

A historical sports drama inspired by India’s first Olympic gold medal, “Gold” traces the golden era of Indian hockey through the journey of Tapan Das, a young assistant manager who dreamt of playing for an independent nation.

The film also stars Mouni Roy, Amit Sadh, Kunal Kapoor, Sunny Kaushal, Vineet Kumar Singh and Mouni Roy.

Directed by Reema Kagti, the film released on August 15.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday spoke to Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio and took stock of the flood and landslides situation in the state and assured him that the NDRF will be sent for rescue and relief operations.

Rio briefed Rajnath Singh about the latest situation in the state.

The Home Minister spoke to the Chief Minister a day after he sought the Centre’s help following incessant rain in the state since July that has caused floods and landslides in several areas there claiming at least 12 lives and rendering thousands homeless.

“Nagaland needs your help. Incessant rain has caused floods and landslides in several parts of the state and has affected many,” Rio tweeted on Wednesday.

Following the interaction between the two, Rajnath Singh tweeted: “Spoke to Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio regarding the situation arising due to floods and landslides in several places of the state. The NDRF teams are being rushed to the state by the MHA to carry out rescue and relief operations.”

A Home Ministry official said that over half a dozen teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), comprising 45 personnel each, are being sent to the affected areas in Nagaland.

The Kerala flood disaster has claimed 483 lives and the estimated value of destruction “is more than the annual outlay of our state”, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vjayan said on Thursday.

Initiating the debate at a special one-day session of the Assembly to discuss the disaster, Vijayan said 14 people still remained missing although flood waters have receded from almost all parts of the state.

He added that at the height of the floods, the worst to hit the state in a century, there were 14.50 lakh people in more than 3,000 relief camps.

“The latest figure is — there are 59,296 people in 305 relief camps. A total of 57,000 hectares of agriculture crops have been destroyed. An approximate estimate of the loss is more than the annual outlay of our state,” he said.

The Chief Minister said the Meteorological Department gave out adequate warnings regarding the rains but the unprecedented showers led to a deluge.

The predicted rains from August 9 to 15 were 98.5 mm but the state got 352.2 mm, he said.

Hitting out at the government, senior Congress legislator V.D. Sateeshan, whose constituency Paravur in Ernakulam district was submerged, called it “a man-made tragedy”.

“This is not a natural calamity, instead a man-made tragedy due to the faulty handling of the dam water management. Dams in the state were overflowing and the primary reason for this tragedy is the way the dam waters were indiscriminately let out,” he said.

“Several dams were opened at midnight. The need of the hour is to fix responsibility and find out who all are responsible for this.”

Thomas Chandy, a former Minister who represents Kuttanadu in Alappuzha, one of the worst hit districts, asked Vijayan to release the Rs 10,000 that the government had promised as interim relief to every family without delay.

K.M. Mani, a veteran opposition legislator, applauded the rescue efforts but said the tragedy could have been avoided had there been a proper dam management policy.

“Now that the tragedy is over, rehabilitation work has to take a systematic approach,” he said.

Mani added that money pouring into building a new Kerala should be collected in a separate account.

“We all know what happened when Ockhi struck and still there has been no proper accounting of the money which is kept in the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund. So we should have a separate account.”

The session saw a tough stand taken by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) when it did not allow two of its legislators, Raju Abraham and Saji Cherian, to speak in the Assembly while permitting nine other legislators to do so.

According to informed sources, the Chief Minister was cut up with the two MLAs as they went public criticising the rescue operations and also the way the dams were opened, sending scores of villages and towns under water particularly in the central districts.

The Kerala Assembly will meet on Thursday for a day to discuss the worst floods in a century to hit the state killing hundreds, displacing thousands and causing widespread destruction.

The session will start at 9 a.m and will close at noon but given the gravity of the situation the time schedule may be extended.

The Congress-led opposition has urged Speaker P. Sreeramakrishnan to see that the treasury and opposition benches be given 150 minutes and all the legislators representing the affected places should be given an hour to speak.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will place before the house a resolution of the government.

In the 140-member Assembly, it will be left to the lone BJP legislator O. Rajagopal to defend the Modi government, which has been accused by the Left and the Congress of giving Kerala a raw deal after the disaster.

The opposition blames faulty dam water management for the unprecedented floods.

They have demanded that a separate account be opened to receive the contributions for rebuilding Kerala. But Vijayan has shot down the idea.

Ever since monsoon rains began lashing Kerala on May 29, a total of 417 people have died. At one point, more than one million people took shelter in relief camps.

(IANS)

An earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale has struck 209 km West of the Ile Hunter off the coast of New Caledonia on Wednesday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The quake occurred at 0351 GMT and was initially determined to be at 22.066 degrees south latitude and 170.050 degrees east longitude at a depth of 26.7 km.

Despite the high intensity of the tremor, no tsunami warning has been issued so far.

Bengalureans felt the ripple effect of floods in Kodagu District (where a rainfall of 768mm left villages ravaged) on August 24, when the city received 43 mm of rainfall till 9 pm. Areas such as Malleswaram, Rajajinagar, Hebbal, Sadashivanagar, Kengeri, Adugodi and Mysore road received very heavy rainfall.
Once the rain started, Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) issued warnings by dispatching messages through their mobile application to certain key areas. The centre has forecast heavy rain in the immediate future, and has intimated the same to BBMP. Scientists warn that 80 mm to 100 mm of rainfall could be enough to cause a disaster in Bengaluru.

Encroachment of Storm Water Drains (SWD) is largely responsible for the accumulation of water in low lying areas. An unnamed official source from the BBMP has said that the encroachment removal drive could not be taken up last year, as there were no surveyors. The drains deteriorate without maintenance, eventually reducing their ability to withstand rainfall up to a mere 35 mm to 40 mm. Thus, even if rainfall is not as heavy as it was in September 2017 (120% above normal levels), there is a possibility of flooding.

BBMP dispatches 100 pourakarmikas to clean Kodagu post flooding
BBMP corporators from all 198 wards have donated their monthly salary towards helping the victims of the flood- ravaged Kodagu District. The amount collected by Mayor Sampath Raj was Rs 2.8 crores for Kodagu and 1 crore for Kerala. Currently, 32 rehabilitation centers in Kodagu are providing shelter to 3000 people, and the death toll has reached 20.

Around 300 male pourakarmikas were sent to clean up the mess created by landslides, destroying the scenic landscape of the region. They were led by a team of 10 senior BBMP officials and health inspectors. The Kodagu district officials had requested the BBMP for 100 mobile toilets for women, specifically in relief camps. The toilets were sent overnight by truck, and have already been installed for usage.

Suburban rail, pod taxi and elevated corridor: Three projects get government push
Three much debated projects introduced in the Chief Minister’s budget for improving last mile connectivity have received a push through three different developments over the last one week.

The Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for suburban railway system in Bengaluru could not begin work due to majority ownership by private entity, I-DECK Ltd. This road-block was addressed through ‘in principle’ approval by Railways Ministry to changes in the share holding pattern of the Karnataka Rail Infrastructure Development Ltd (K-RIDE), under which the SPV to implement the Suburban Rail Project for Bengaluru, will be set up. In the meeting held in Vidhana Soudha on August 21st, officials from BMRCL and BMTC participated in the discussion on the proposal sent by the state government to grant primary ownership back to the government .

This may be expected to assuage the anger of citizens who have been demanding a well-planned suburban railway network that would solve their commuter related woes. Activists from Citizens for Bengaluru (CfB) are gearing up for a campaign titled #ModaluTrainBeku on August 31st through a staged rail yatra in the afternoon.

Secondly, the pod taxi system is also officially under-way now. The rope-way enabled transit system that is proposed to connect 43 metro stations as a feeder service in the first phase has been suddenly approved by the BBMP without consulting the opposition.

Even with public outcry and scientific studies denying feasibility, the government is keen on elevated corridors for Bengaluru. In a meeting held with all stakeholders on August 25th, the Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL) evaluated the possibility of 53 entry and exit ramps every 2 to 3 kms along the corridors, along with parallel lanes for BMTC buses.

400 homes destroyed inside Bellandur slum
Kariyammana Agrahara, a slum settlement of 1500 dwellers and 400 odd houses, located roughly a kilometre away from Bellandur lake, was mercilessly bull-dozed by the BBMP on August 18th. BBMP alleged that the slum was formed over a rajakaluve eight years ago by migrants from UP, Assam and West Bengal.

Mayor Sampath Raj justified the severe action taken, saying the settlement was in the lake buffer zone, on land belonging to the government. He also said that several previous warnings had been issued to residents before the demolition drive.

Alternate Law Forum Lawyer Vinay Sreenivasa took on the accusation of encroachment made by the Palike, and said that the allegation was baseless. He argued that the settlement was situated at a distance of 1.3 km from the Bellandur Lake. This was in accordance with an order issued by the National Green Tribunal stating the buffer zone should be maintained within 50 metres of a water body.

Bangalore airport the world’s second fastest growing
Routesonline, a leading event management company in the field of aviation, released a report on August 22nd ranking the world’s fastest growing airports. The analysis put Kempegowda International Airport’s growth in the second spot, ahead of other airports located in Los Angeles, Madrid, Frankfurt, and Tokyo. KIA even beat Delhi which emerged in the sixth spot.

Experts say that Bengaluru being the Silicon Valley of India, there is a high population of techies who want to travel business class and this has contributed to the rise of passengers every year. In the first half of 2018, a total of 1,58,50,352 passengers were recorded travelling from Bengaluru by flight. This is reportedly an increase of 41,80,852 passengers compared to the first six months of 2017.

Only airports crossing 2.5 million passengers from January to June 2018 were studied for the ranking.

Flood hit Kodagu district has so far received Rs 46.15 crore as relief funds for the rehabilitation work, an official statement revealed.

“The Chief Minister’s relief fund has received a total of Rs 46.15 crore through contributions from various state’s institutions, private firms and employee associations,” a statement from Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy’s office clarified.

Demand Drafts (DD) worth Rs 14 crore were received through 153 different individuals and organisations, while more than Rs 9 crore was transferred to the relief fund through internet banking and digital wallets.

Kodagu Deputy Commissioner P. Sreevidya said that the district has estimated a total loss of Rs 1,140 crore to public and private property.

Various NGO’s organisations and media houses are also collecting funds towards rebuilding Kodagu district.

(PTI)