Massive wildfire destroys homes in Cyprus, 2 bodies found in burned-out car
Police initially reported late Wednesday that Civil Defence personnel found the charred body of a single individual inside the vehicle on a main road connecting fire-hit hillside villages. But a second body was discovered early Thursday morning, and police said identification efforts are ongoing.
Photos posted on social media purported to show the victims' gutted vehicle on the shoulder of the main Monagri-Alassa road.
Fire Service Spokesman Andreas Kettis told state-run Cyprus News Agency there are currently no active fronts, but fire crews were still battling numerous flare-ups, and winds are expected to pick up later in the day. Up to 14 aircraft are resuming water drops over hard-to-reach areas.
Cyprus' Justice Minister Marios Hartsiotis told the state broadcaster that more than 100 people who were evacuated from fire-hit communities are being hosted in temporary shelters.
The fire forced the evacuation of 14 villages along a 14-kilometre stretch of mountainous terrain. Media reports showed gutted homes smouldering as flames swept through the outskirts of some villages. In the village of Lofou, at least 20 homes were destroyed as fires threatened a group of stranded evacuees whose police buses had to turn back as the fire front shifted to block their exit.
Images broadcast on media late Wednesday showed flames consuming trees, brush and other vegetation along a huge front burning bright orange against the backdrop of a nighttime sky.
Police continued to block road access to the fire-afflicted communities as area residents vented against what they called a disorganised response to the huge fire.
Government spokesman Constantinos Letymbiotis said Spain would be sending two firefighting aircraft Thursday morning to assist local crews. Jordan is helping with two of its own helicopters, which had been deployed in Cyprus for firefighting. An RAF Chinook helicopter that operates from one of two British Bases on Cyprus is also assisting.
Limassol Municipality and the local soccer club Apollonas offered apartments and a basketball court, respectively, to temporarily house evacuees.
Cyprus has been on high alert for fires this summer after three consecutive arid winters.
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Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Hindustan Times
Kolkata: British-era sewerage system turns corner with tech, precise restoration
Amalendu Biswas, a retired government employee from central Kolkata, was often forced to miss office after a downpour as the lane in front of his house would be inundated almost waist-deep. He said Muktaram Babu Street, Manicktala, Thanthania, MG Road, and Chittaranjan Avenue were flooded even after a light rain. The sewerage system was built between 1860 and 1875. (Sourced) 'The scene was almost the same in parts of Kolkata. Photos of boats at Bodyguard Lines in Alipore [housing police personnel] after a heavy downpour were published in every newspaper,' said Biswas. Kolkata's over 150-year underground sewerage system has since turned a corner, overcoming silt and neglect thanks to a mix of technology and targeted was hardly any water logging in July, even as Kolkata received the second-highest rainfall for the month since 2010. The mechanisation has helped in faster and more efficient desilting, which was previously done manually. The work, which started in 2007-08 was scaled up in the last 10 years. The India Meteorological Department's regional meteorological centre (RMC) recorded around 669 mm of rain this July, against a normal of 371 mm. RWC head HR Biswas said that there were at least three days of intense rain in July when Kolkata received over 80 mm of rainfall within hours. Large parts of Kolkata would earlier get inundated after moderate (15 mm–64 mm) and heavy rainfall (64 mm–115 mm). Some pockets were waterlogged even after a light rain (up to 15 mm). A police constable said there was hardly any water logging in the Bodyguard Lines despite the heavy spells of rain in July. 'Earlier, police personnel would need rubber boats to reach the office after a heavy downpour. There is now maximum ankle-deep water after a heavy downpour, but even that recedes fast.' British officer William Clark designed the system between 1860 and 1875, the first such mechanism in Asia and the world's third, rivalling London and Hamburg (Germany), to discharge rainwater up to 6 mm per hour. Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC)'s former principal chief engineer, Nilangshu Bhusan Basu, said that siltation reduced the sewer system's hydraulic capacity. 'The century-old brickwork was in poor shape and on the verge of collapse in many stretches,' Basu said. He added that the pumping stations were too old to handle the pressure. 'The run-off reaching the sewers was increasing because of the destruction of wetlands, which once acted as a sponge. Even the city's outfall canal system was heavily silted.' KMC member-mayor-in-council Tarak Singh said that the civic body refurbished the system by desilting clogged sewers using new machinery. He added that a complete overhaul was out of question as it would take years and thousands of crores. 'We did a targeted intervention in vulnerable and water logging-prone areas.' Officials said digging up the entire system and laying new pipes was infeasible in a city with a density of over 24,300 people per square km and a road space of around seven per cent. The sewers were heavily clogged with blockages of 70%-90%. There was hardly any desilting. KMC director general Santanu Kumar Ghosh said they repaired the system. 'The tunnels were lined with glass-reinforced polymer (GRP). It was smoother than the brick walls and ensured a faster flow of water. The fast-flowing water would help the sewer be desilted for a longer time.' The sewers were unclogged before the repair. Singh said around 36,500 MT of silt was removed in 2014-15. 'In 2024-25, it rose to 2,28,600 MT. We removed around 184400 MT of silt in 2020-21, when the [Covid] pandemic was at its peak. In the last decade, the KMC removed around 1.77 million MT of silt to unclog the system,' said Singh. At least seven types of machines, including gully pit emptier machines, jet cum suction machines, and blow-vac machines, were used to remove the silt. Singh said the number of gully-pit emptier machines has increased to 40 from 15 in 2004-05, jet-cum-suction from seven to 63, and blow vac from one to eight. 'The mechanisation helped in faster and efficient desilting.' A KMC engineer said stretches needing repair and reinforcement are dried up by pumping out the water. 'The cleaning team then goes down after taking safety precautions. Machines are used to extract the silt. Once the stretch is unclogged, the tunnels are repaired and grouted to restore their classic egg shape.' The engineer said that an egg-shaped tunnel helps maintain a good flow of water in dry weather. 'Then the GRP liners are inserted to make the tunnel stronger.' He said the pumping stations were upgraded, and their number increased. Jadavpur University School of Water Resource Engineering professor Pankaj Kumar Roy called unclogging a mammoth task. 'In some stretches, the silt had become hard like rock and had to be cut. Unclogging the sewers and reinforcing them with GRP gave the sewers a fresh lease of life.' Over ₹5,000 crore was spent over the last 10 years on the project from KMC's revenue, central and state government funds, and an Asian Development Bank loan. Kolkata has around 2,800–3,000 km of underground sewerage and drainage system, with the new tunnels reinforced with concrete. A former KMC engineer said the sewers should be declared a heritage, calling it an engineering marvel, with the British-era brickwork in most stretches still holding strong.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Time of India
Many wards in Danapur affected by waterlogging
1 2 3 4 Patna: Heavy rain has caused widespread waterlogging in most wards under the Danapur nagar parishad jurisdiction, leaving residents to fend for themselves in absence of timely civic response. The worst-affected areas include ward numbers 11, 19, 20, 21, 24, 26, 35, 38 and 40 where ankle to knee-deep water has inundated streets and residential areas, severely disrupting normal life. The crisis has been exacerbated by the non-completion of the town's drainage system, a long-pending civic project that has drawn the ire of locals, particularly senior citizens and the sick who find it difficult to navigate through the flooded lanes, said JD(U) vice president of Patna district, Sanjay Kumar Singh. Women said they are the worst sufferers as they have to wade through stagnant water to procure essential household items, as vendors and daily suppliers have stopped entering the waterlogged localities in Bibiganj police chowky, Gola Road, Sultanpur, Panchsheel colony, Urja Nagar, IAS colony, Lekha Nagar, RPS Engineering College Mor, Machchua Toli and Lal Kothi Road, he said. Talking to this newspaper here on Friday, several residents of Bibiganj locality expressed frustration over the administration's lack of preparedness. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Magherafelt: If You Were Born Between 1945-1974 You Could Be Eligible For This British Seniors Read More Undo "This happens every monsoon, but this year it is the worst. The drains are half-built, and now we are suffering," said Sushila Devi, a resident of ward number 21. According to a resident of Takiapar and RJD activist Afroz Alam, the local administration should have taken steps much earlier to check waterlogging in the nagar parishad wards. Children have stopped going to their schools, as they have to wade through the stinking water and there's lurking fear of poisonous reptiles, he said. Danapur Nagar Parishad executive officer, Pankaj Kumar, said the district administration has deployed 41 water pumps in an effort to clear water from low-lying areas. All possible efforts are being made to clear water as the pumps are running round-the-clock under the strict supervision of the parishad officials, he said, adding the local administration has also started sprinkling disinfectants to check the outbreak of an epidemic.
The Hindu
3 days ago
- The Hindu
Water Resources Department to complete first phase of improvements to Cholavaram reservoir's bund soon
This year, the Cholavaram reservoir will be able to store water to its full capacity as the first phase of work to strengthen the critical portions of its bund will be completed in a fortnight. The Water Resources Department (WRD) has completed major components of the work to improve the bund through a ₹40-crore project. The Cholavaram reservoir in Tiruvallur district is one of the five major reservoirs used to store drinking water for Chennai. Spread over 5.42 it serves as a balancing reservoir between the Tamaraipakkam anicut and the Red Hills reservoir. Built during British rule prior to 1871, the waterbody currently has a storage of only 157 million cubic feet against its original capacity of 1,081 mcft. The WRD expects the waterbody to be filled during the Northeast monsoon. A portion of the bund had suffered damage on several occasions, including in 2014, 2015, and 2017. It may be recalled that the bund suffered severe damage during Cyclone Michaung in 2023. WRD officials said of the total bund length of 3.57 km, work had been completed to strengthen its 1.04-km critical portion to prevent erosion and ensure dam stability. A diaphragm wall — a concrete wall measuring 6 m in depth near the bund — was one of the main components built as part of the project to reinforce the bund and arrest seepage. While this will protect the bund from erosion, a wave deflector wall has also been built to prevent damage caused by wave action when the reservoir reaches its full capacity. An official said the top portion of the bund had also been widened by a metre. Work is in progress to lay a bitumen road on top of the bund and repair its parapet wall. 'We have already constructed shutters to regulate water discharge during heavy rainfall,' he added. The WRD has sought ₹50 crore to commence the second phase of the work to repair another 1.2 km of the bund.
