Disasters Archives - Disasters News

Feb142026 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Gujarat Tops India With 1,560 Forest Land Diversion Approvals in Five Years

Gujarat has recorded the highest number of approvals for diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes in the country over the past five financial years, according to data tabled in the Rajya Sabha. In a written reply to an unstarred question by Member of Parliament Sanjay Singh on February 5, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change stated that Gujarat cleared 1,560 proposals under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980, between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2025 the highest among all states and union territories. Haryana followed with 1,424 approvals, Uttar Pradesh with 1,188, Punjab with 1,067, and Madhya Pradesh with 902. Across the country, a total of 10,026 proposals were approved during the five-year period, while only 120 were...

Feb132026 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Asia $170 Billion Disaster Bill Sparks Urgent Call to Shift From Recovery to Resilient Infrastructure

Disasters, Environment

As climate-driven disasters grow more intense and frequent, experts are warning that Asia and the Pacific can no longer afford to rebuild the same vulnerable infrastructure after every crisis. Instead, governments and development banks must urgently pivot from disaster recovery to long-term resilience planning. In a policy update published on February 6, leaders from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) argued that the region remains trapped in a costly cycle of reactive rebuilding. Annual average disaster losses in Asia and the Pacific are now estimated at more than $170 billion, with climate change amplifying risks across transport, energy, water, and telecommunications systems. Less than 4% of Climate Finance Goes to Resilience Despite mounting losses, resilienc...

Feb132026 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Floods Send Far More Plastic to the Ocean Than Previously Estimated

Disasters

Rivers do not carry plastic into the ocean in a slow, steady stream. Instead, they release it in powerful bursts especially during floods. A new study shows that when rivers swell after heavy rainfall, the amount of microplastics and mesoplastics in the water can rise dramatically, suggesting that scientists may be significantly underestimating how much plastic ultimately reaches the sea. Researchers found that plastic transport is heavily concentrated during short periods of high water flow. If monitoring only takes place during calm, low-flow conditions, the most important part of the story may be missed. Measuring Plastic in the Middle of a Storm Most previous studies on river plastic pollution have focused on normal flow conditions, largely because sampling...

Feb122026 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Flood Alerts Remain in Yorkshire After Weeks of Relentless Rain

Disasters

Several flood alerts and a flood warning remain in force across parts of Yorkshire following weeks of persistent rainfall that has left rivers swollen and ground saturated. The Environment Agency has issued one flood warning for the River Ouse in York, meaning flooding is expected, along with four flood alerts across the region, indicating that flooding is possible. Areas affected include parts of the River Went in West Yorkshire and the River Derwent in North Yorkshire. Recent images from York show the River Ouse bursting its banks, with floodwater spilling onto pavements and roads in the city centre. Forecasters say the unsettled conditions are the result of a “blocked” weather pattern that has lingered for several weeks, preventing more settled systems from ...

Feb42026 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Bhuj Earthquake: The Disaster That Redefined India’s Seismic Safety

Disasters, Environment

The Bhuj earthquake of January 2001 remains etched in India’s disaster history as one of the deadliest calamities since Independence. More than 13,000 people lost their lives, over 1.5 lakh were injured, and nearly a million were rendered homeless as entire towns in Gujarat collapsed within minutes. The scale of destruction exposed how unprepared modern India was for a major seismic event. Beyond the tragic human toll, Bhuj tested the entire system responsible for public safety. From urban planning and structural design to construction practices, supervision, and emergency response, every link was stressed simultaneously. What failed was not just brick, concrete, and steel, but also governance, enforcement, and the flow of technical knowledge from codes to constructi...

Jan302026 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Snowfall Returns Late to North India, Raising Questions Over Vanishing Himalayan Winters

Disasters, Environment

Snow has finally returned to parts of North India’s higher Himalayas after a long dry spell, as western disturbances brought fresh snowfall to Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. While the white slopes have offered brief visual relief, scientists warn that this late-season snowfall cannot undo the damage of an unusually snowless winter, pointing instead to deeper climate shifts underway in the region. The India Meteorological Department has forecast continued rain and snowfall across the western Himalayan region till the end of the month. However, January traditionally the heart of the snow season nearly passed without significant snowfall in several high-altitude areas, including Badrinath, Kedarnath and large parts of the Garhwal region. Locals a...

Jan292026 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Africa Tectonic Split Measurable Today Though Visible Change Will Take Millennia

Disasters, Fact Check

On a hazy morning in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley, the land looks calm. Farmers follow paths their grandparents once walked. Goats wander through dry soil. At first glance, nothing feels unusual. Then you notice a shallow, jagged scar cutting across a field, filled with rainwater and bits of plastic. A child hops across it without a second thought, unaware that this small crack is part of a process unfolding over millions of years. Scientists say Africa is slowly tearing itself apart. What makes this remarkable is not the drama of the idea, but the fact that the movement is already measurable today. The African continent is not a single solid block. Beneath the surface, it is divided into tectonic plates. In East Africa, two of them matter most: the Nubian Plate to t...

Jan282026 by Editor DeskNo Comments

River Turned Toxic: How Industrial Pollution Is Poisoning the Sirsiya From Nepal to India

Disasters, Environment

For decades, the Sirsiya river shaped everyday life in southern Nepal. Children swam in its waters, families washed clothes along its banks, and farmers relied on it for irrigation. Today, the river tells a very different story. Flowing thick and black through Nepal industrial heartland before crossing into India, the Sirsiya has become a moving channel of industrial waste and untreated sewage, threatening public health, livelihoods and cross-border relations. From lifeline to open drain in Nepal industrial capital The Sirsiya originates in the forests of Bara district and passes through the Bara Parsa industrial corridor, Nepal’s largest manufacturing zone. Once central to agriculture, religious rituals and domestic life in Bara and Parsa districts, the river now...

Dec172025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Bengaluru Steps up Plastic Waste Recovery with Large-scale RDF Supply to Cement Industry

Disasters

Bengaluru has taken a significant step towards strengthening its waste-to-resource ecosystem as the Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited began supplying low-value plastic waste, known as refuse-derived fuel, to Dalmia Cement Limited. On Monday, the civic agency dispatched its first large consignment of 160 metric tonnes of RDF, marking the start of a long-term collaboration aimed at reducing landfill burden and improving waste utilisation. According to Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited Chief Executive Officer Karee Gowda, the agency currently collects close to 400 metric tonnes of RDF every day from across the city. Of this, around 100 to 150 metric tonnes are already being sent to a waste-to-energy plant near Bidadi. With the new arrangement in place, the...

Nov212025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Fire Disrupts COP30 Summit In Brazil As Thousands Evacuate, 21 Injured

Disasters

A massive fire tore through a section of the COP30 climate summit venue in Belem, Brazil, on Thursday afternoon, triggering a large-scale evacuation of thousands of delegates and halting crucial negotiations. The incident sent panic across the Blue Zone, the core operational hub of the global climate conference, where negotiations, country pavilions, media centres and top-level offices are located. Authorities confirmed that at least 21 people required medical assistance, most of them for smoke inhalation. The blaze, which erupted around 2 pm, was brought under control within six minutes, but the rapid spread of flames and thick clouds of smoke caused significant alarm among participants. Fire Breaks Out Inside The Blue Zone According to initial assessments by local fire officials...