AP, AFP and Europa Press
The newspaper La Jornada
Wednesday, July 31, 2024, p. 28
Bangalore. More than 100 people have died in landslides triggered by heavy monsoon rains in southern India, local authorities said yesterday.
Emergency crews were able to rescue 250 people trapped under the mud, although their efforts were hampered by persistent rainfall which rendered many roads unusable in Wayanad, the worst-affected district.
This catastrophe caused the death of 108 peopleKerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in a statement. The previous death toll was 93.
128 people are being treated in hospitals (…) It is one of the worst natural disasters our state has ever known.he stressed.
My thoughts are with all those who lost loved ones. Prayers for the injured.Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X.
Images released by the National Disaster Response Force show rescuers searching for survivors in the mud and carrying bodies on stretchers out of the area devastated by the landslide.
The Prime Minister’s Office announced compensation of 200 thousand rupees (about 2,400 dollars) for the families of the victims.
The monsoon rains in South Asia typically last from June to September. They provide relief from the stifling summer heat and recharge groundwater.
Although they are vital to agriculture and food security for the 2 billion people living in the region, they also often bring flooding and landslides.
The frequency of these natural disasters has increased in recent years and experts say climate change has worsened the phenomenon.
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The Park Fire has destroyed at least 370,000 acres (150,000 hectares) in California since last week, making it the sixth largest in state history, and is expected to continue to spread, as firefighters have only managed to control 14 percent of it.
Some 5,000 firefighters were deployed with more than thirty helicopters to try to combat the flames, which have affected the counties of Butte, Plumas, Shasta and Tehama, whose topography and landscape make the work difficult, the newspaper reported. Los Angeles Times.
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North Macedonia has asked the European Union for more help to combat wildfires, which are still raging out of control and have crossed the southern border into Greece.
This week, large wildfires in parts of the country destroyed and damaged homes, forced the evacuation of populations and claimed the life of one person in a town located about 60 kilometers east of the capital, Skopje.
Successive heat waves have contributed to triggering fires in the Balkans and other parts of southern Europe.
