Latest news with #DisasterReliefFund
Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Climate
- Hindustan Times
Rain: Jharkhand on alert mode, death toll rises to six
Ranchi, The Jharkhand government on Friday asked officials to be on alert mode as IMD warned of very heavy downpour while the toll due to rain in the state rose to six with two more deaths. Rain: Jharkhand on alert mode, death toll rises to six The India Meteorological Department issued a fresh warning for very heavy rainfall over isolated areas of northwestern Jharkhand, with heavy rain expected in parts of north-central and northeastern districts over the next few days. Thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty winds are also likely in some places. A two-year-old child died after a mud house collapsed in heavy rain in Lembua village in Chatra district on Friday while a 40-year-old private security guard was washed away in a drain in Mango locality of Jamshedpur, officials said. Heavy rainfall on Thursday claimed the lives of four people, including two schoolboys and a 10-year-old girl, while another person went missing at a waterfall, officials said. The relentless downpour caused significant infrastructural damage across several districts. Incidents of house, bridge, and wall collapses were reported while several rivers were in spate prompting the state government to activate emergency response teams, including the National Disaster Response Force NDRF for rescue operations. A two-year-old child died after a mud house collapsed in heavy rain in Lembua village of Tandwa police station area of Chatra district, about 120 km from capital Ranchi. Tandwa Circle Officer Vijay Kumar Das said that the incident took place at 11 am on Friday when the child was sleeping inside the house and a part of the mud house collapsed. The family of the deceased will be given a compensation amount of ₹ 4 lakh under the Disaster Relief Fund. In a separate incident in Jamshedpur, a 40-year-old private security guard Sanjay Verma was washed away while trying to cross a water-filled drain. The local residents retrieved the body and informed police, who shifted him to MGM Hospital where doctors declared him dead. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Hemant Soren interacted with deputy commissioners of all districts through video conferencing and directed them to remain alert in view of heavy rainfall in the state. He asked all deputy commissioners to take effective steps to deal with damage caused by heavy rains and the problem of waterlogging. He also asked officials to coordinate with local authorities and try to end waterlogging situation as soon as possible. "The damage caused to infrastructure like roads, bridges, houses, crops, etc, in districts should be assessed and an immediate report should be sent to the state government so that there is no delay in providing relief and compensation to the affected people. "The CM directed DCs of all districts to keep control rooms set up fully active. In view of heavy rainfall, take help of NDRF team as well as local people to avoid any kind of untoward incident at tourist places like waterfalls, barrages, etc. The CM said that security personnel should also be deployed at waterfall as per requirement," a statement from the Chief Minister's office said. In Jamshedpur Deputy Commissioner East Singhbhum district Karn Satyarthi on Friday visited various areas affected by incessant rain as rivers Kharkhai and Swarnarekha continued to flow above danger mark. The spate in rivers Kharkhai and Swarnarekha continued as ten radial gates of Chandil dam opened releasing 3,109 cusecs of water and two each gates of Banabal and Kharkhar dams of Odisha opened, an official statement said. Hundreds of houses in catchment areas and residential apartments were inundated including in Bagbeda, Mango, Sonari, Bhuiyadih, Kadma localities during relentless rains, which also caused waterlogging. On Thursday Jharkhand saw four casualties due to rain while a portion of a bridge over the Banai River in Khunti's Torpa area collapsed, disrupting traffic on the Khunti-Simdega road. A portion of the boundary wall of Sonari airport in Jamshedpur collapsed due to incessant rain, officials said. Schools in affected areas, including Ranchi and Khunti, were closed on Thursday and Friday as a precautionary measure. In Seraikela-Kharsawan, an abandoned residential building owned by Tayo Rolls, a Tata Steel subsidiary, collapsed in Gamharia on Thursday morning. The building had been vacated earlier and declared unsafe, Tata Steel had said in a statement. Meanwhile, the southwest monsoon has advanced further over most of Bihar and parts of eastern Uttar Pradesh. IMD said a well-marked low-pressure area persists over northeast Jharkhand and adjoining Gangetic West Bengal, supported by an upper air cyclonic circulation extending up to 7.6 km. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Time of India
13-06-2025
- Time of India
2 killed, 2 hurt in separate lightning strike incidents in Haridwar's Laksar
Roorkee: Two people died and two others were injured in separate lightning strikes in Haridwar's Laksar area on Friday. Bholi Devi, 45, and Mohammad Shahbaz, 22, were working in their fields when lightning struck. Devi, a resident of Muktarbad village and works as a daily wager, was weeding a sugarcane field in Hussainpur village with two others when the weather suddenly turned around 8.30 am. As it began to rain, the three took shelter under a mango tree. Soon a lightning strike fell near Devi, killing her on the spot. Her two companions, who were on the other side of the tree, sustained burns but survived. They were admitted to a local hospital and are now out of danger. Bholi's body was sent for postmortem. Shahbaz, from Jainpur Khurd village, was also working in his field when he was struck by lightning. His family rushed him to hospital, but he died on the way. They declined a postmortem and informed officials that they did not wish to pursue any official proceedings. "In cases of death due to lightning, an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh is provided to the victim's family under the Disaster Relief Fund. Since only Devi's postmortem was conducted, her family alone will receive this compensation," said SDM Laksar Saurabh Aswal. Follow more information on Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad here . Get real-time live updates on rescue operations and check full list of passengers onboard AI 171 .
The Print
28-05-2025
- The Print
Two girls dead, seven injured as lightning strikes hamlet in UP's Mirzapur
Haliya Inspector Virendra Singh nine-year-old Sadhana and ten-year-old Khushboo, daughters of residents Ajay and Santosh respectively, were playing near a hand pump when they were struck by the lightning. The incident happened at around 3 pm in the Majhgawan hamlet in Nanda village under Haliya police station limits here. Mirzapur (UP), May 28 (PTI) Two girls aged nine and ten years died and seven others were injured when lightning struck during light rainfall in a village here on Wednesday, police said. Meanwhile, under a neem tree nearby, seven people including a three-year-old girl, two teenagers and a woman suffered burn injuries, Singh said. 'All injured are being treated at the Haliya Primary Health Centre,' said Dr Kameshwar Tiwari of the PHC. Sub-divisional magistrate Sanjeev Kumar Yadav, who visited the hospital, directed prompt medical care and announced compensation of Rs 4 lakh each for the deceased and Rs 5,400 each the injured people under the Disaster Relief Fund. Police have sent the bodies for post-mortem. PTI COR KIS RUK RUK This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
FEMA cuts natural disaster grants; Portsmouth loses $24M, Virginia Beach spared
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has canceled a popular grant program that previously awarded millions of dollars for Hampton Roads projects meant to protect against natural disasters. On the chopping block is a $24.2 million award slated for the Lake Meade Dam, a drinking water reservoir operated by Portsmouth. FEMA announced this month it will cut the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, or BRIC. Under the Biden administration, $1 billion was made available for BRIC over five years through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and FEMA reports $133 million to date has been provided for about 450 project applications across the country. FEMA announced all applications from 2020-2023 have been canceled, and any funds not distributed to cities will go back to the Disaster Relief Fund or the U.S. Treasury. But not every BRIC-funded Hampton Roads project will lose out. A $25 million grant for Virginia Beach's Eastern Shore Drive Drainage Project was already allocated and city officials said the project was spared. Funding through the BRIC program was allocated to cities for hazard mitigation activities or projects that promoted climate adaptation and resilience, and the award required a funding match from the awarded communities. In the cancellation announcement, FEMA called the BRIC program 'wasteful and ineffective' and stated it was 'more concerned with political agendas than helping Americans affected by natural disasters.' The defunded Portsmouth project is the biggest blow to the region. The funding was supposed to help enhance protection and stabilization of the Lake Meade Dam, located in Suffolk. Portsmouth maintains the dam, which serves as a critical reservoir for drinking water. The project would strengthen the dam, upgrade spillways and retrofit the reservoir to prevent overtopping during extreme precipitation, when water spills over the top of a dam. The project would help protect 80 residential properties and about 30 businesses within the dam break inundation zone. A Portsmouth spokesperson did not respond by Tuesday afternoon to questions about the grant. The Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, a regional organization representing 17 local governments in Hampton Roads, also had BRIC funding cut. Matt Klepeisz, communications administrator for the HRPDC, said about $200,000 had been dedicated to updating the Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan. The plan, updated every five years, recommends specific actions to protect residents, businesses and development from environmental hazards that pose the greatest risk. Those risks include hurricanes and flooding. Klepeisz said the team has applied to other funding opportunities to support the updates. U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine joined Reps. Bobby Scott and Jennifer McClellan in writing a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem about the cuts to Virginia projects, specifically noting the loss of money for the Portsmouth project as well as a $12 million grant for improvements to the Richmond Water Treatment Facility. 'The potential revocation of existing BRIC awards is an unanticipated shock to Virginia localities that have budgeted, planned and in some cases begun work on these crucial projects,' the Democrats' letter reads. In Virginia Beach, about $25.1 million was awarded in 2021 to help pay for improvements done through the Eastern Shore Drive Drainage Project, and the city will match the grant with about $10.7 million. In 2023, the City Council voted to approve the ordinance that would accept the funding. The awarded funding in Virginia Beach is planned to be used in the first stage of the multiphase drainage project. The project will include drainage improvements, the addition of large stormwater pump stations, an automated tide gate and the deepening and widening of the Cape Henry Canal to help reduce flooding in the Shore Drive area of the city. According to the city, the improvements would protect neighborhoods of extreme rain events, including 614 properties and 'community lifeline' facilities. Virginia Beach said in a statement officials were aware of the potential cuts, but funding for the Shore Drive improvements likely will not be affected. A FEMA dashboard for BRIC projects shows the money was already obligated. 'Our FEMA liaisons have communicated that they do not foresee the City being at risk of losing the grant funds for this flood protection project,' a city statement reads. The BRIC cuts are the latest federal grant cancellation to hit a climate resiliency project in Hampton Roads. Hampton is expected to lose out on $20 million after Environmental Protection Agency grants to address flooding were targeted for cancellation. In a time where flood infrastructure projects are increasingly expensive to execute, federal funding is an avenue that many cities take to fight against negative impacts of climate change. The total cost of the Flood Protection Program in Virginia Beach has increased to more than $1 billion as the result of hikes in material and labor. Meanwhile, Hampton Roads has several large-scale construction projects underway leading to a short supply of contractors and heftier contract prices. Eliza Noe,
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
FEMA cuts natural disaster grants; Portsmouth loses $24M, Virginia Beach spared
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has canceled a popular grant program that previously awarded millions of dollars for Hampton Roads projects meant to protect against natural disasters. On the chopping block is a $24.2 million award slated for the Lake Meade Dam, a drinking water reservoir operated by Portsmouth. FEMA announced this month it will cut the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, or BRIC. Under the Biden administration, $1 billion was made available for BRIC over five years through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and FEMA reports $133 million to date has been provided for about 450 project applications across the country. FEMA announced all applications from 2020-2023 have been canceled, and any funds not distributed to cities will go back to the Disaster Relief Fund or the U.S. Treasury. But not every BRIC-funded Hampton Roads project will lose out. A $25 million grant for Virginia Beach's Eastern Shore Drive Drainage Project was already allocated and city officials said the project was spared. Funding through the BRIC program was allocated to cities for hazard mitigation activities or projects that promoted climate adaptation and resilience, and the award required a funding match from the awarded communities. In the cancellation announcement, FEMA called the BRIC program 'wasteful and ineffective' and stated it was 'more concerned with political agendas than helping Americans affected by natural disasters.' The defunded Portsmouth project is the biggest blow to the region. The funding was supposed to help enhance protection and stabilization of the Lake Meade Dam, located in Suffolk. Portsmouth maintains the dam, which serves as a critical reservoir for drinking water. The project would strengthen the dam, upgrade spillways and retrofit the reservoir to prevent overtopping during extreme precipitation, when water spills over the top of a dam. The project would help protect 80 residential properties and about 30 businesses within the dam break inundation zone. A Portsmouth spokesperson did not respond by Tuesday afternoon to questions about the grant. The Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, a regional organization representing 17 local governments in Hampton Roads, also had BRIC funding cut. Matt Klepeisz, communications administrator for the HRPDC, said about $200,000 had been dedicated to updating the Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan. The plan, updated every five years, recommends specific actions to protect residents, businesses and development from environmental hazards that pose the greatest risk. Those risks include hurricanes and flooding. Klepeisz said the team has applied to other funding opportunities to support the updates. U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine joined Reps. Bobby Scott and Jennifer McClellan in writing a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem about the cuts to Virginia projects, specifically noting the loss of money for the Portsmouth project as well as a $12 million grant for improvements to the Richmond Water Treatment Facility. 'The potential revocation of existing BRIC awards is an unanticipated shock to Virginia localities that have budgeted, planned and in some cases begun work on these crucial projects,' the Democrats' letter reads. In Virginia Beach, about $25.1 million was awarded in 2021 to help pay for improvements done through the Eastern Shore Drive Drainage Project, and the city will match the grant with about $10.7 million. In 2023, the City Council voted to approve the ordinance that would accept the funding. The awarded funding in Virginia Beach is planned to be used in the first stage of the multiphase drainage project. The project will include drainage improvements, the addition of large stormwater pump stations, an automated tide gate and the deepening and widening of the Cape Henry Canal to help reduce flooding in the Shore Drive area of the city. According to the city, the improvements would protect neighborhoods of extreme rain events, including 614 properties and 'community lifeline' facilities. Virginia Beach said in a statement officials were aware of the potential cuts, but funding for the Shore Drive improvements likely will not be affected. A FEMA dashboard for BRIC projects shows the money was already obligated. 'Our FEMA liaisons have communicated that they do not foresee the City being at risk of losing the grant funds for this flood protection project,' a city statement reads. The BRIC cuts are the latest federal grant cancellation to hit a climate resiliency project in Hampton Roads. Hampton is expected to lose out on $20 million after Environmental Protection Agency grants to address flooding were targeted for cancellation. In a time where flood infrastructure projects are increasingly expensive to execute, federal funding is an avenue that many cities take to fight against negative impacts of climate change. The total cost of the Flood Protection Program in Virginia Beach has increased to more than $1 billion as the result of hikes in material and labor. Meanwhile, Hampton Roads has several large-scale construction projects underway leading to a short supply of contractors and heftier contract prices. Eliza Noe,
