Haiti raises earthquake death toll, passes 2,200
Port-au-Prince, Aug 22: Haiti's Civil Protection Agency said Sunday that the toll from this month's magnitude 7.2 earthquake has grown to 2,207, with 344 people still missing.
The previous figure had been 2,189 on Wednesday. The agency said via Twitter that 12,268 people were injured and nearly 53,000 houses were destroyed by the August 14 quake.
The new toll comes at a time when relief operations are expanding the US-based aid agency Samaritan's Purse opened a field hospital Saturday but authorities are struggling with security at distribution points. Gangs have hijacked aid trucks and desperate crowds have scuffled over bags of food.
In the hard-hit city of Les Cayes, meanwhile, some attended outdoor church services on Sunday because sanctuaries had been badly damaged by the quake, which was centered on the impoverished nation's southwestern peninsula.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Heatwave scorches Odisha, Jharsuguda reels under 43.6 degrees C
Bhubaneswar (PTI): Heatwave conditions scorched Odisha on Tuesday, with the IMD forecasting that hot and humid conditions would continue in parts of the state.
The IMD’s Bhubaneswar centre said Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Khurda, Nayagarh, Ganjam and Gajapati districts were likely to experience hot and humid conditions on April 22.
It also predicted thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty surface winds in parts of Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Puri, Khurda, Nayagarh, Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada and Koraput, among others.
On Tuesday, 18 places across Odisha recorded maximum temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius or above. The industrial town of Jharsuguda was the hottest in the state at 43.6 degrees Celsius.
Sambalpur and Titlagarh recorded 42.5 degrees Celsius each, followed by Hirakud at 42.4 degrees, Bolangir at 42.2 degrees and Angul at 42.1 degrees.
The twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack recorded 37.9 degrees Celsius and 38.8 degrees Celsius, respectively, with relative humidity levels remaining above 70 per cent.
Meanwhile, the state government directed all district education officers to conduct a Summer Learning Programme for students till class 8 in government schools during the summer vacation.
Officials said students would be given practice assignments along with audio-visual learning content.
Subject-wise assignment sheets have been prepared, while related digital material will be shared through school parents' WhatsApp groups using a chatbot system, they said.
