Hurricanes were more powerful, floods more debilitating and wildfires more damning in 2017. Mumbai: We entered into 2017 with promises of a new tomorrow and inhibitions about the uncertain future.
Category: Disasters
Three killed in Chittagong landslide
Three people, including two day-labourers and a minor boy, were killed in a landslide while removing slope soil from a hill at Dakkhin Rajanagar in Rangunia upazila on Saturday.
Help slow rising sea levels
Sea levels are rising because polar ice is melting. Polar ice is melting because greenhouse gases are warming the world.
Typhoon that battered Philippines spares Vietnam
Hanoi, Dec 26 (AP/UNB) — A powerful storm that left a trail of death and destruction in the Philippines was downgraded to a tropical depression Tuesday and failed to make landfall in Vietnam.
37 die in Philippines’ Davao mall fire
At least 37 people are feared to have died in a fire that ravaged a shopping mall in the southern Philippine city of Davao, local officials say. Firefighters battled for hours to extinguish the blaze that started on Saturday morning…
Tropical Storm Tembin: 200 die in flash floods
Rescuers are searching for victims of a tropical storm in the southern Philippines, where nearly 200 people have died in mudslides and flash floods. Rescue teams have yet to reach some of the affected areas on Mindanao island. Many people…
“Only our youth can save the planet” – Kumi Naidoo
By Pascal Laureyn Suva, Fiji, Dec 20 (IPS) – “Today’s youth should think of new solutions for old problems like climate change and social injustice.”
Derailed US train lacked automatic safety system
Technology that forces trains to adhere to speed limits was being installed on the express that crashed in the US state of Washington on Monday but was not yet operational, investigators say. Three people died when the train derailed at…
Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson airport power cut grounds flights
A power cut at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson international airport has led to a partial shut-down and major delays to flights. The airport is the world’s busiest, handling more than 250,000 passengers and almost 2,500 flights every day. Passengers have been left…
Chile landslide destroys village, kills at least five
A landslide caused by torrential rain has killed at least five people in southern Chile and has destroyed dozens of houses. Fifteen people are missing in the remote village of Villa Santa Lucía in the country’s lake region, popular with…
Global warming to displace One-third of coastal people
Dhaka – One-third of people in coastal areas of Bangladesh will be displaced from their households by 2050 due to climate change. Besides, severe floods, tidal surges and cyclones will increase due to an increase in global temperature and the…
200,000 flee as wildfires spread, emergency in California
Nearly 200,000 residents have been evacuated from their homes in California as firefighters battle several raging wildfires. Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in San Diego on Thursday after a new blaze spread from 10 acres to 4,100…
16 killed in India, Sri Lanka as strong cyclone hits
A powerful cyclone has killed at least 16 people across India and Sri Lanka, uprooting trees and cutting power for millions amid warnings Friday that the storm would intensify. Disaster officials said nine people were killed in India and seven…
Dozens of flights cancelled as Bali volcano erupts
Denpasar, Indonesia, Nov 26 (BSS/AFP) – A volcano Denpasar Indonesian tourist hub of Bali sent plumes of grey smoke and steam thousands of metres into the air for the second time this week, triggering flight cancellations which have left thousands…
Bali volcano activity prompts ‘red warning’
Airlines have been issued a “red warning” about the danger of volcanic ash in the skies close to Bali after Mount Agung emitted a thick plume of smoke more than 1,500m (4,921ft) high. It is the second major emission from…
Climate change is already upon us & will only worsen
By António Guterres Bonn, Nov 15 (IPS) – It is fitting that this year’s conference of parties (on climate change, COP 23) is led by Fiji, a nation on the frontlines.
Powerful quake kills 407 on Iran-Iraq border
An Iranian disaster management official says Iran’s death toll from Sunday’s powerful earthquake along the Iran-Iraq border has risen to 407.
Iran says at least 140 killed, 300 hurt in quake
Tehran, Nov 13 (AP/UNB) — Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency says the death toll in the powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake along the borders of Iran and Iraq has risen above 140. IRNA also said over 860 people were injured in the…
Recent floods to affect BD’s food production growth: FAO
A sequence of floods has dampened the outlook for Bangladesh, likely translating into a third successive season of little or negative food production growth, mainly rice, says FAO. Barring major setbacks, production recoveries could instead permit Bangladesh and Sri Lanka…
Mild tremor shakes Dhaka, rest of Bangladesh
Dhaka, Nov 8 – A mild tremor jolted different parts of the country including the capital Dhaka on Wednesday morning.
Manarat university student stabbed dead in city
Dhaka – A student of Manarat International University was stabbed to death by miscreants in city’s Madhya Badda area on Monday morning.The deceased was identified as Nasim Ahmed, 24, son of Saifuddin, and a third year BBA student of the…
27 dead as typhoon batters Vietnam
At least 27 people have died and nearly two dozen are missing after Typhoon Damrey barrelled into Vietnam, authorities said Sunday, just days before the country welcomes world leaders to the APEC summit. The storm, which made landfall on Saturday,…
Monsoon rains kill 12, displace thousands in southern India
New Delhi, Nov 4 (AP/UNB) – Thousands of people have taken refuge in relief camps as torrential monsoon rains flooded parts of southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, killing at least 12 people this week.
Fire at Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah construction site
Part of Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah has been engulfed in smoke after a “minor” construction site fire. Dark smoke could been seen rising above the One Palm by Omniyat site on the left side of The Palm’s trunk on Thursday morning.
Family Planning dialogue held at Speakers Council
Chittagong – Peacempire—funded by 120 Under 40 project—organizes Family Planning Dialogue on June 12 in the port city of Chittagong, Bangladesh. A number of 310 plus participants attended the seminar. The attendees include intermediate students, undergrad students, young parents, community workers,…
No food-no water-no shelter: Two days of muck-rain-uncertainty
By International Organization for Migration Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, Oct 24 (IOM) – Last week, the Government of Bangladesh moved near 7,000 Rohingya refugees, who had been stranded in “no man’s land” near the Anjuman Para border crossing point in Cox’s…
US former presidents gather for hurricanes fundraiser
The five living former US presidents have gathered for a concert in aid of victims of the hurricanes which ravaged the US this year. Barack Obama, George W Bush, Bill Clinton, George HW Bush and Jimmy Carter appeared in Texas…
Highest 253 mm rainfall recorded in Feni on Saturday
Under the influence of land depression, Feni witnessed the highest 253 mm rainfall in nine hours to 3pm today, an official of the Met Office here said today. “Generally, Bangladesh witnesses depression at the Bay almost every year during the…
Former US presidents gather to raise funds for hurricanes’ victims
America’s five living former presidents gathered together for a concert in aid of victims of the hurricanes which ravaged the US this year. Barack Obama, George W Bush, Bill Clinton, George HW Bush and Jimmy Carter appeared in Texas on…
People get raft ride on submerged main roads in Dhaka City
City dwellers experienced a rare opportunity to take a boat ride along key thoroughfares as the roads went under knee- to chest-deep water due to torrential heavy downpour on Saturday. Members of Fire Service and Civil Defence (FSCD) provided the…