Category:

Disaster & Management

Odisha, Bengal brace to fight cyclone Amphan amid Covid crisis; NDRF deployed

The cyclone, according to an IMD report, has intensified into a very severe cyclonic storm over the Bay of Bengal. It is likely to make a landfall somewhere between Digha in West Bengal and Hatiya Islands in Bangladesh on Wednesday.”The trajectory is mostly towards West Bengal, Sagar Islands and probably towards Bangladesh…. But we have to watch the trajectory very closely. NDRF has deployed the teams well in advance. They are either deployed or moving towards the destination,” S N Pradhan, the chief of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) said in New Delhi.
As it rolls in towards the Indian shores ominously, the cyclone is likely to unleash heavy rain and high-velocity winds in large swathes of coastal Odisha and West Bengal.

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Covid-19 could cause economic loss up to $8.8 trn, 9.7% of global GDP: ADB

The ADB’s forecast, equal to 6.4% to 9.7% of global gross domestic product, was worse than projections in April when it said the global economy could suffer between $2.0 trillion and $4.1 trillion in losses, depending on how long containment measures were in place.
Measures to contain the spread could inflict $1.7 trillion to $2.5 trillion in economic losses in Asia, and between $1.1 trillion and $1.6 trillion in China, the ADB said.

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U.N. warns of global mental health crisis due to COVID-19 pandemic

The UN report outlined action points for policy-makers to aim “to reduce immense suffering among hundreds of millions of people and mitigate long-term social and economic costs to society”.
These included redressing historic under-investment in psychological services, providing “emergency mental health” via remote therapies such as tele-counselling for frontline health workers, and working proactively with people known to have depression and anxiety, and with those at high risk of domestic violence and acute impoverishment.

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Sitharaman unveils second tranche of relief for migrant workers, small farmers & poor

The Central government has also asked states to use the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to set up shelters and provide food and water to the urban poor, including migrant labourers. Rs 11,000 crore was sent for this purpose, said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

National Portability Ration Cards can be used in any ration shops that will be applicable across the country. By Auguist 2020, 67 cr beneficiaries in 23 states or 83 per cent of all PDS beneficiaries will get covered. By March 2021, 100 per cent will be covered, she said.

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