Heena Sharma Blog

  The Mumbai Police on Friday registered an FIR against the captain of barge P305, which sank on Monday in the Arabian Sea, 35 nautical miles from Mumbai under the impact of the Cyclone Tauktae . The barge captain Rakesh Ballav, along with others, has been booked on the basis of a complaint by rescued barge engineer Mustafizur Rehman Shaikh. According to the police, the case has been registered in Mumbai's Yellow Gate police station. "A case has been registered against Barge P305 Captain Rakesh Ballav and others on the complaint of a barge engineer. The case has been registered under section 304(2), 338 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)," the police said. Police also said it has launched a search for the Captain. According to the FIR, despite receiving alerts on Cyclone Tauktae approaching, Captain Rakesh Ballav and others did not make any arrangements for the safety of the staff on board, due to which the barge sank in the cyclone storm and many lost their...

  The Navy on Wednesday said its personnel, battling extreme weather, have so far rescued 184 of the 273 people onboard barge P305, adding all personnel on board two other barges and an oil rig are safe after Cyclone Tauktae fury rendered these vessels adrift. "As of Wednesday morning, 184 personnel of barge P305 have been rescued and INS Kochi and INS Kolkata are returning to Mumbai harbour with the rescuees. "INS Teg, INS Betwa, INS Beas, P8I aircraft and Seaking helicopters are continuing with the search and rescue operations," a Navy spokesperson said. All the 137 personnel on barge GAL Constructor were rescued on Tuesday by the Navy and Coast Guard. The 196 personnel on barge SS-3 and 101 personnel on board oil rig Sagar Bhushan are safe, the official said. Read More

  Mumbai received 230 mm rainfall due to the cyclonic storm Tauktae , with a weather expert claiming it to be the highest 24-hour downpour in May in the recorded history. According to the India Meteorological Department's (IMD) Mumbai centre, the Santacruz observatory (representative of suburbs) recorded 230.3 mm rainfall in the 24-hour period ending at 8.30 am on Tuesday. Besides, the Colaba observatory (representative of south Mumbai) recorded 207.6 mm rain during the same period. As per the IMD's calculations, rainfall above 204.5 mm is considered as extremely heavy, "Mumbai (Santacruz): 230 mm in last 24 hrs due to cyclone effect, this is the highest 24hrs rain in Mumbai in May in the recorded history. #CycloneTauktae," Vineet Kumar, a researcher on cyclones in the north Indian Ocean at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune, tweeted on Tuesday. Read More

  Severe cyclonic storm Tauktae that is hovering over Saurashtra in Gujarat would move north-northeastwards and weaken gradually into a cyclonic storm during next three hours, informed the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday. " Severe cyclonic storm ' Tauktae ' lay centered at 08:30 hrs IST of May 18 over Saurashtra, about 130 kilometers south-southwest of Surendranagar and 10 kilometers east of Amreli. It would move north-northeastwards and weaken gradually into a cyclonic storm during the next three hours," IMD tweeted. The meteorological department informed that 'Tauktae' lay centered at 09:30 am over Saurashtra, near latitude 21.65 degrees north and longitude 71.35 degrees east, about 205 kilometers southwest of Ahmedabad, 125 kilometers south-southwest of Surendranagar. Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani held a high-level review meeting on cyclone situation and rainfall conditions in the state, especially in the 14 coastal districts,...

  Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday took stock of the situation in Mumbai, Thane and other coastal districts of the state in the wake of the cyclonic storm Tauktae . According to an official statement, 12,420 people living in coastal stretches of Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg and Raigad districts have been shifted to safer places. These include 8,380 people in Raigad, 3,896 in Ratnagiri and 144 in Sindhudurg. Thackeray reviewed the situation in Mumbai, Thane and neighbouring areas and instructed authorities to ensure that the treatment of COVID-19 patients in the region is not affected due to the cyclonic storm, the statement said. A red alert has been issued for Raigad district, while an orange alert has been issued for Mumbai, Thane and Palghar, it said. A red alert is sounded for rainfall of over 20 cm and an orange alert is for rain between 6 cm and 20 cm. Read More

  Many factories, offices and commercial establishments remained closed in and around Chennai on Thursday as the very severe cyclonic storm Nivar , crossed the Tamil Nadu and Puducherry coasts. Meanwhile, Chennai received 1497.60 mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours 9(till 6 am). Some of the factories including Hyundai, Ashok Leyland and a few other manufacturing units in and around Chennai were also closed. Tamil Nadu government had announced a public holiday in 16 districts, including Chennai, due to the cyclone. NV Balachandar, president, HR, Ashok Leyland said that the company's Chennai plant was closed due to the cyclone as a precautionary measure. "We expect to resume the operations from November 27, 2020. Additionally, according to emergency protocols, all preventive measures for the cyclone are in place. Manpower has been deployed for emergency responses round the clock with necessary equipment like cranes, excavators, tree cutters etc. And, at the moment, we do...

Cyclone Nisarga which spared Mumbai after it made landfall near adjoining Alibaug is now a depression over west Vidarbha region in Maharashtra and will weaken further, the India Meteorological Department(IMD) said on Thursday. Cyclone Nisarga made landfall near Alibaug, about 110 km from here on Wednesday, sparing India's financial centre which is already reeling under the Covid-19 pandemic. "Deep Depression weakened into a Depression over west Vidarbha (Maharashtra) at 0530 IST of 4th June, to move east- northeastwards and weaken into a Well Marked Low Pressure Area (WML) by today evening," the department tweeted. Read More

Nearly 43,000 people living near the coastline in Gujarat's Valsad and Navsari districts were moved to safety as the state prepared for cyclonic storm Nisarga , officials said on Wednesday. As many as 13 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and six teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have been deployed at different locations, news agency PTI reported. Five more teams of NDRF have also been called in, the government said. Valsad Collector R R Raval said, "We have shifted nearly 32,000 people living close to the seashore to temporary shelters. The weather is cloudy at present, but winds have not started yet." Read More

Cyclone nisarga : The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday said that the depression in the Arabian Sea is likely to intensify into a severe cyclone and cross the north Maharashtra and south Gujarat coasts on June 3, and will have an impact on Mumbai. The depression will intensify into a deep depression --- the third and fourth stage of any cyclone formation --- by this evening. It will intensify into a cyclonic storm by June 2, the Cyclone Warning Division of the IMD said. "It (the storm) is very likely to move nearly northwards initially till June 2 morning and then recurve north-northeastwards and cross north Maharashtra and south Gujarat coasts between Harihareshwar (Raigad, Maharashtra) and Daman during evening/night of June 3," the Cyclone Warning Division said. Read More

Telecom service-providers were able to restore connectivity to only 80-85 per cent capacity level in areas of West Bengal hit by super cyclone Amphan . This is due to erratic power supply, continued fibre cuts and obstruction by people protesting against disruption in electricity and water supply, industry body COAI said on Monday. Earlier in the day, the Department of Telecom had asked the companies to bring the connectivity level to 95 per cent by Monday evening. "The overall telecom network has been restored to about 85 per cent level. The main reasons are erratic power supply, fibre cuts and problems in reaching places because roads are blocked by fallen trees and also obstruction by agitated people," COAI Director General Rajan S Mathews told PTI.   Read More

The severe cyclonic storm Amphan has claimed at least 20 lives in Bangladesh, reported Dhaka Tribune. The government estimated that the damage from the cyclone is worth Tk 1,100 crore (nearly $130 million). The outlet citing State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Dr. Md Enamur Rahman reported that initial estimates by four ministries suggested that Cyclone Amphan had badly affected 26 districts, causing damage to the tune of Tk 1,100 crore. "According to a primary estimation, based on inputs from the ministries of local government, agriculture, fisheries and livestock, and water resources, the losses add up to Tk 1,100 crore," Rahman was quoted as saying. He further stated that a full estimate would be available only after a week. Read More

As cyclone Amphan struck Odisha and West Bengal on Wednesday, Bollywood actors including Vicky Kaushal, Shabana Azmi and others prayed for people's safety and minimum destruction. Vicky on Thursday expressed his concern over the situation after seeing some "terrifying videos" of the deadly cyclone from Kolkata. "Praying for the safety and well being of everyone residing in the regions affected by the cyclone," the 32-year-old actor tweeted. Meanwhile, veteran actor Shabana Azmi, on Wednesday, took to Twitter and wrote: "Thinking of Bengal and Odisha .. Terrifying visuals on TV. May all stay safe." Read More

https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/cyclone-amphan-all-ops-at-kolkata-airport-suspended-till-5-am-on-thursday-120052000540_1.html?utm_source=SEO&utm_medium=PB In view of cyclone Amphan , all operations at Kolkata airport, including special flights, have been suspended till 5 am on Thursday. "All operations suspended at Kolkata Airport till 5 am tomorrow in view of cyclone Amphan including special flights, which were operational in view of COVID-19 pandemic," the Airport Director stated. Indian Coast Guard ships and aircraft have been kept on stand by for deployment to undertake area scan, search and rescue and relief efforts. Read More

The met office says Cyclone Amphan could intensify into a Severe Cyclonic Storm within 12 hours over central parts of South Bay of Bengal. Well, the cyclone comes at a time when the country is already grappling with the coronavirus pandemic . The NDRF said that it was ready to undertake massive evacuation of 1.1 million people likely to be hit by it. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has directed officials to prepare a plan for relocating people living in vulnerable areas to safer places along with an early restoration of water supply and power infrastructure. The state has set a zero casualty target. Read More

Cyclone Vayu: Mumbai and some neighbouring coastal areas of Maharashtra witnessed a windy Wednesday morning as cyclone ' Vayu ' turned into a "very severe cyclonic storm", the weather department said. "Cyclone Vayu has turned into a very severe cyclonic storm. It would cause gusty winds to blow at a speed of 145 kmph to 170 kmph by Thursday morning," the IMD said. The Indian Meteorological Department has said that thunderstorm and lightning accompanied with gusty wind (40-50kmph) is very likely at isolated places in the districts of North Gujarat region including Banaskantha and Sabarkantha today and tomorrow (Thursday). The alert comes in wake of Cyclone Vayu, which is likely to make landfall over the Saurashtra coast of Gujarat as a severe cyclonic storm early Thursday morning with winds gusting up to 135 kmph and storm surges of up to 1.5 metres. Tropical Cyclone Vayu, which formed Monday, strengthened on Tuesday into a hurricane-strength trop...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said over Rs 1,000 crore had been released in advance for the states affected by Cyclone Fani . Addressing an election rally here, he said the government was with the people in times of crises. A detailed review meeting was held and he had been given the latest updates on Cyclone Fani, Modi said as the extremely severe cyclonic storm hit Odisha on Friday morning. The prime minister also ramped up his attack against the Congress, saying the party is distraught about Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar being declared as an international terrorist during the election and is questioning the timing of the announcement. He alleged that the opposition party is unhappy with India's security situation. Instead of celebrating the decision of the United Nations (UN) designating the JeM chief as an international terrorist, the opposition party is questioning its timing, the prime minister said. Read More Article Source -> Bus...