Second body found after Banff rockslide; search called off at Bow Glacier Falls
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) recovered a second body on Friday morning following Thursday's deadly rockslide near Bow Glacier Falls. A massive rockfall swept down a mountainside on Thursday, close to Bow Glacier Falls on the Icefields Parkway, roughly 124 miles northwest of Calgary. The incident initially claimed one life and injured three hikers.
Emergency crews responded immediately, including STARS Air Ambulance and the RCMP. Two injured hikers were airlifted to Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary, and another was taken by ambulance. Their conditions were not released.
Also Read: Rockslide at Bow Glacier Falls leaves one dead, several injured as rescues underway in Banff National Park
Authorities confirmed one hiker, a retired occupational therapist from the University of Alberta, was killed at the scene. On Friday morning, rescue teams resumed the search and discovered a second deceased hiker. Park officials stated that no additional hikers are missing. No unidentified vehicles were at the trailhead, indicating that the victims were among those already reported. RCMP confirmed that the next of kin have been notified.
Parks Canada has urged the public to avoid the area around Bow Lake and Icefields Parkway. Airspace over the site remains closed to facilitate rescue teams. The Icefields Parkway remains open, though travel delays are expected.
Geotechnical engineers are conducting slope stability assessments, and infrared drone flights are underway to ensure no further victims remain.Local officials, including Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, expressed their condolences. 'We are thinking of all those involved and wishing for their safety as we await further details,' she said.
The Bow Glacier Falls trail is a 9 km moderate-grade hiking route along Bow Lake. It is popular with families and day hikers.
Also Read: Why General Mills discontinued cereals like Medley Crunch and Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheerios About 400 kilometers south of Bow Glacier Falls, the tragic rockslide in Frank, Alberta, on April 29, 1903, reminds us of the dangers of such events.In just two minutes, 110 million tons of limestone fell from Turtle Mountain, burying parts of the town, the Canadian Pacific Railway, and a coal mine, resulting in at least 70 deaths. Remarkably, 17 miners escaped the rubble that day.
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News18
4 hours ago
- News18
Puerto Ricos schools unequipped to cope with ever hotter heat waves
Agency: PTI Culebra (Puerto Rico), Aug 21 (AP) When temperatures soar at a public school on the small Puerto Rican island of Culebra, students scatter in search of relief. During a summer programme last month, as outdoor temperatures climbed into the upper 80s, Zedrik, a rising third grader, sat in the schoolyard beside a bush not tall enough to shade him entirely from the sun. Kenneth, a ninth grader, took refuge in the library. Nayla, an eighth grader, went to the director's office, where an air conditioner offered limited relief. The school has ceiling fans, but they don't operate at full strength. Other cooling equipment in the school doesn't work because it's been damaged by fluctuations in electrical voltage on an island dealing with an energy crisis. Students and teachers often suffer heat-related illnesses at schools in Puerto Rico, one of many places where extreme heat is disrupting children's education more frequently. Puerto Rico has developed guidelines for moving students to places with ventilation and air conditioning during extreme heat, but in practice, students often have limited options. The US territory in the Caribbean has made slow progress rebuilding school infrastructure damaged by Hurricane Maria in 2017 and earthquakes in 2020. Centro de Periodismo Investigativo in Puerto Rico is collaborating with The Associated Press, Honolulu Civil Beat, CalMatters, and Blue Ridge Public Radio to examine how school communities are recovering from natural disasters. Heat makes it harder for children to learn Exposure to extreme heat is linked to reduced cognitive function in childhood, particularly in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. The smallest children are particularly vulnerable because they sweat less and have faster metabolisms, according to an analysis by the United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF. Heat also acts as a psychological stressor, triggering anxiety and reducing memory capacity, said Nellie Zambrana, a school psychologist and professor at the University of Puerto Rico. 'In the afternoon, classes have to be much more strict than in the morning to keep students' attention. Otherwise the class just becomes, 'It's so hot, mister. It's so hot'," said Jose Quintana, a math teacher who suffered heat exhaustion himself at the school in Culebra, Escuela Ecologica, in 2023. The eastern educational region of Puerto Rico that includes Culebra reported 124 cases of students affected by extreme temperatures in 2024, according to data from the territory's education department. That's in line with a recent study that documented warming temperatures there and elsewhere around the island as a symptom of climate change. Across Puerto Rico, an island of 3.2 million people, there have been over 795 emergency room visits for illnesses related to heat exposure since 2023, and 20 per cent of them were by young people aged 18 or younger, according to the health department. The island government has acknowledged a need for more resilient schools to cope with heat waves, but many schools lack cross-ventilation and have cooling systems that are broken or insufficient. Students and teachers take a DIY approach to heat relief At Escuela Luis Munoz Marin in Yabucoa, in the island's southeast, the school community held raffles and collected a fee for dressing down on casual days to raise money to buy at least one fan for each classroom. Parents often send children to school with their own battery-powered fans to cope with the heat. Teachers have adapted by holding classes in the library, where there is air conditioning, said Josian Casanova, a history teacher at the high school. Last year, some students felt sick and had to leave because of the heat, he said. 'It's hard for teachers to focus when it's so hot," Casanova said. 'Imagine what it's like for students trying to concentrate." At the school in Culebra, the inconsistent power has also affected meal preparation. Changes in voltage have damaged equipment, including the ice machine and ceiling fans, said Maria Villanueva, who has worked at the school for five years. The three cafeteria staff members cook meals without a ventilation hood for the stove, and food spoils quickly because of heat and humidity in the storage room. The heat poses challenges for schools on the US mainland as well Over the last decade, demand for air conditioning at the start of the school year in the US has risen 34 per cent, according to an analysis from Climate Central, a science and communications nonprofit that researches climate change. In 2020, the US Government Accountability Office estimated that 41 per cent of school districts needed to upgrade or replace their heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. Demand for electricity has risen just as the island has been dealing with an energy crisis. Hurricane Maria in 2017 destroyed the island's electrical grid. Since the launch of privatisation in 2021, electricity customers on average lose power four times a year for a total of about 13 hours. The island's government has invested more than USD 15 million since 2021 in air-conditioning equipment for 14 schools, but there isn't always enough power to run them, especially when demand spikes during afternoons in the summer. Escuela Luis Munoz Marin installed air conditioning units this year, but they don't have enough power to turn them all on, Casanova said. The school has been waiting two years for the government to upgrade the building's power substation. 'If the power goes, there are no other options," he said. (AP) NPK NPK (This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - PTI) view comments First Published: August 21, 2025, 19:15 IST News agency-feeds Puerto Ricos schools unequipped to cope with ever hotter heat waves Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Loading comments...
India Today
4 hours ago
- India Today
Is historically arid Beijing ready for a wetter future?
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If you warn people in time, good, but if not, it's a natural disaster," said Cui, whose 10 properties in the same Huairou district village, which he had spent 35 million yuan ($4.87 million) renovating, were floods exposed weaknesses in the rural emergency response infrastructure for Beijing, whose urban core is surrounded by several rural they also revealed how historically-dry Beijing, home to 22 million people, remains insufficiently prepared for what experts say will be an increasingly wet future. The Chinese capital has experienced three deluges since 2012 that forecasters said could only happen once every 100 years, and climate experts warn there is a growing risk of disasters on a previously unthinkable experts are increasingly calling for city planners to prioritise "ecological resilience" given the disastrous effects of climatechange."The current understanding of the climate crisis and its future challenges is insufficient, which naturally leads to insufficient deployment and planning," said Zhou Jinfeng, Secretary-General of the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation. Water is discharged from Miyun reservoir after continuous rain fall triggers alerts, in Miyun District in north of Beijing. (Photo: AP) China's ministries of housing and environment, and the Beijing city government, did not respond to faxed requests for two Beijing districts devastated by floods in 2023 have issued long-term reconstruction plans prioritising "climate-adaptive city construction" and proposing measures to improve rural flood control systems and upgrade infrastructure, the vast majority of recently-commissioned infrastructure projects in the capital do not prioritise climate adaptation in their plans.A Chinese government database showed only three Beijing infrastructure projects in the past five years whose procurement tenders mentioned "ecological resilience", while several hundred tenders mentioning "climate change" were mostly related to research projects at state scientific institutes in resilience refers to measures such as restoring natural river embankments, reducing the use of concrete and other hard materials and excessive artificial landscaping, as well as increasing biodiversity, according to a shift away from decades of breakneck urbanisation that propelled China's economic growth, a top-level urban planning meeting in July emphasised building "liveable, sustainable and resilient" is typically when northern China's rainy season starts, but this year it had its earliest start since records began in 1961, while several Beijing rivers experienced their largest-ever recorded rainfall in June and July surged 75% from a year earlier, official data is due to the "significant northward expansion of China's rain belt since 2011" linked to climate change, the director of China's National Climate Center told state-owned China Newsweek, marking a shift towards "multiple, long-term, sustained cycles of rainfall" in the traditionally arid north.'SPONGE CITIES'China's policymakers have taken some steps to combat urban flooding. "Sponge city" projects have been underway across the country since 2015, transforming concrete-laden megacities with hidden drainage infrastructure such as permeable asphalt pavements, sunken rain gardens and modernised sewage concept, originating in China, refers to mimicking a sponge's ability to absorb and release Beijing, recently-built projects include flood control pumping stations, riverside parks and manmade spent more than 2.9 trillion yuan ($403.78 billion) on more than 60,000 "sponge city" infrastructure projects in 2024, according to official aim to have covered 80% of urban areas in all cities by 2030, although many provinces and major cities are behind Beijing, new "sponge city" projects worth at least 155 million yuan have begun this year, according to a Chinese procurement tender database. Currently, 38% of Beijing's urban areas meet "sponge city" standards, media reports experts say such initiatives cannot help in Beijing's rural fringes because the mountainous landscape makes villages, usually built at the foot of steep hillsides and lacking emergency response infrastructure, more vulnerable to secondary disasters such as "sponge city" standards are also based on historical precipitation data and are poorly-equipped to deal with extreme rainfall, said Yuan Yuan, Greenpeace East Asia's climate and energy contingency plans must also consider ensuring pre-emptive evacuation of residents and improving early warning systems, in particular identifying vulnerable populations with limited mobility, she the recent Beijing floods, 31 elderly residents of a nursing home in Miyun were among the dead. They had not been included in evacuation plans and were trapped in the rising waters."It's necessary to rationally plan the infrastructure needed by local communities and ... coordinate risk response plans and countermeasures, to create an integrated system to minimise future losses," Yuan said.- EndsTune InMust Watch
NDTV
8 hours ago
- NDTV
Where Is Hurricane Erin Now? Category 2 Storm Threatens Flooding From Florida To New England
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