Category:

Disaster & Management

Harrowing tale of lapses in India sea disaster in ONGC’s barge collapse

State-run ONGC, the country’s biggest explorer, and its billionaire-owned offshore engineering contractor are under growing pressure to explain their roles in one of the world’s worst offshore oilfield disasters in recent memory.

Interviews with survivors, rescue officials and executives from ONGC suggest that a serious misreading of the weather, as well as human error and safety lapses led to the tragedy.

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World now likely to hit watershed 1.5 °C rise in next five years, warns UN weather agency

“These are more than just statistics”, said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas. “Increasing temperatures mean more melting ice, higher sea levels, more heatwaves and other extreme weather, and greater impacts on food security, health, the environment and sustainable development,” he said.

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India faced 117 cyclones from 1970-2019, over 40,000 lives lost: Study

“Overall, the analysis showed that the mortality rate associated with tropical cyclones decreased by almost 88 per cent in the last decade (2010–2019) in comparison to the earlier decade (2000–2009) despite the significant increasing trend of severe tropical cyclones during the post-monsoon season over Bay of Bengal,” the paper states.

India Meteorological Department Director General Mrutunjay Mohapatra said the reasons for fatalities during cyclones have changed over the years with improvement in IMD’s forecast abilities.

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Cyber crime is growing risk to bank ratings: S&P

Cyber attacks can harm credit ratings mainly through reputational damage and potential monetary losses, it said in a report titled ‘Cyber Risk In A New Era: The Effect On Bank Ratings.’

“Cyber attacks have had only a limited effect on bank ratings to date but can trigger more rating actions in the future as cyber incidents become more frequent and complex,” said Credit Analyst Irina Velieva.

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Cyclone Yaas likely to make landfall near Odisha’s Dhamra port tom morning: Report

IMD Director General Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said that Cyclone Yaas is likely to intensify into a “Very Severe Cyclonic Storm (VSCS)” by Tuesday evening and Chandbali is likely to witness the maximum damage caused by it.

“Rain has already started and will continue. Wind speeds in Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur districts will reach around 80 kmph by midnight,” he said.

He said the impact will be severe for six hours before and after the landfall.

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Yaas intensifies into very severe cyclonic storm: IMD; eastern states evacuate more than 12 lakh people

`Yaas’, which was positioned 160 km south-southeast of Paradip in Odisha and 240 km south-southeast of Digha in West Bengal over north-west and adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal on Tuesday evening, is likely to gain a maximum speed of 155 kmph to 165 kmph gusting to 185 kmph during landfall, the Met department said.

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Biden doubles U.S. spending on preparations for extreme weather

The $1 billion will help communities prepare for hurricanes, floods and wildfires, with a portion allotted specifically to disadvantaged communities, the White House said.

It said the United States had 22 separate weather- and climate-related disasters in 2020 costing a total of nearly $100 billion in losses.

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