Ahmedabad under tight security cordon for India-Pakistan cricket match
Ahmedabad (PTI): Security has been tightened in Ahmedabad and at the Narendra Modi Stadium in view of the India-Pakistan World Cup match on Saturday with the police heads of various units across Gujarat being on "alert mode" to keep a close watch on anti-social elements and sensitive areas to avoid any untoward incident, officials said.
The match is scheduled to be held in Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium, the world's largest cricket stadium, between 2 pm and 10 pm.
More than 6,000 personnel of the Gujarat police force along with those of the National Security Guard (NSG), Rapid Action Force (RAF) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), among others, have been deployed in the city and at the stadium located in Motera area.
Gujarat Director General of Police (DGP) Vikas Sahay said during his media briefing on Friday that the overall security set-up has been divided into five key pillars - security for stadium and spectators, traffic and parking arrangement, security for the cricket teams, close watch on anti-social elements and making sure that no untoward incident takes place in the entire state.
Various units of police across Gujarat have been instructed to remain on alert mode to keep a close watch on anti-social elements and sensitive areas to avert any untoward incident during and after the match, an official said.
Different security agencies such as Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), city crime branch, and Special Operations Group (SOG) have been roped in to deal with anti-social elements and terrorists, he said.
At the same time, the units of Gujarat police across the state have been directed to be on alert mode after 8 pm tomorrow, as the match ends at 10 pm on Saturday. State Reserve Police (SRP) units remain on "alert position" for a quick deployment in case of an emergency, officials said.
Four senior IPS officers and 21 deputy commissioner of police (DCP) rank officers have been deployed supervise and guide the personnel, they said.
Ahmedabad Commissioner of Police G S Malik said though the city has never witnessed communal violence during cricket matches played in the city in the past 20 years, security forces were deployed in several communally-sensitive areas as a precautionary measure.
To respond to any chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) emergencies during the match, teams from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and NDRF will also be deployed in the city.
Earlier this week, the Ahmedabad crime branch arrested a man for allegedly sending an email threatening attack on the Narendra Modi Stadium. The accused had allegedly sent an email claiming that there will be a blast in the stadium.
Last month, the Gujarat Police registered an FIR against Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the chief of banned outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), for threatening to turn the Cricket World Cup, unveiled on October 5 at Narendra Modi stadium, into "World Terror Cup".
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Los Angeles county wildfires could be costliest in US history, early estimates say
Los Angeles, Jan 11: The wildfires that erupted this week across Los Angeles County are still raging, but already are projected to be among the costliest natural disasters in US history.
The devastating blazes have killed at least 11 people and incinerated more than 12,000 structures since Tuesday, laying waste to entire neighbourhoods once home to multimillion-dollar properties.
While it's still too early for an accurate tally of the financial toll, the losses so far likely make the wildfires the costliest ever in the US, according to various estimates.
A preliminary estimate by AccuWeather put the damage and economic losses so far between USD 135 billion and USD 150 billion. By comparison, AccuWeather estimated the damage and economic losses caused by Hurricane Helene, which tore across six southeastern states last fall, at USD 225 billion to USD 250 billion.
“This will be the costliest wildfire in California modern history and also very likely the costliest wildfire in US modern history, because of the fires occurring in the densely populated areas around Los Angeles with some of the highest-valued real estate in the country,” said Jonathan Porter, the private firm's chief meteorologist.
AccuWeather factors in a multitude of variables in its estimates, including damage to homes, businesses, infrastructure and vehicles, as well as immediate and long-term health care costs, lost wages and supply chain interruptions.
The insurance broker Aon PLC also said Friday that the LA County wildfires will likely end up being the costliest in US history, although it did not issue an estimate. Aon ranks a wildfire known as the Camp Fire in Paradise, California, in 2018 as the costliest in US history up to now at USD 12.5 billion, adjusted for inflation. The Camp Fire killed 85 people and destroyed about 11,000 homes.
The LA County wildfires, which were fuelled by hurricane-force Santa Ana winds and an extreme drought, remained largely uncontained Saturday. That means the final tally of losses from the blazes is likely to increase, perhaps substantially.
“To put this into perspective, the total damage and economic loss from this wildfire disaster could reach nearly 4 per cent of the annual GDP of the state of California,” AccuWeather's Porter said.
In a report Friday, Moody's also concluded that the wildfires would prove to be the costliest in US history, specifically because they have ripped through densely populated areas with higher-end properties.
While the state is no stranger to major wildfires, they have generally been concentrated in inland areas that are not densely populated. That's led to less destruction per acre, and in damage to less expensive homes, Moody's noted.
That's far from the case this time, with one of the largest conflagrations destroying thousands of properties across the Pacific Palisades and Malibu, home to many Hollywood stars and executives with multimillion-dollar properties. Already, numerous celebrities have lost homes to the fires.
“The scale and intensity of the blazes, combined with their geographic footprint, suggest a staggering price tag, both in terms of the human cost and the economic toll,” Moody's analysts wrote. The report did not include a preliminary cost estimate of the wildfire damage.
It could be several months before a concrete tally of the financial losses from the wildfires will be possible.
“We're in the very early stages of this disaster,” Porter said.
