7 killed as hurricane Florence pummels Carolinas
Washington, Sep 15 : At least seven people were killed as hurricane Florence made landfall in the US state of North Carolina, battering the state with a powerful combination of wind and rain. Warnings were issued about the risk of life-threatening flash flooding in parts of North and South Carolina as well as in Virginia.
It was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm on Friday, but continued to soak the East Coast area with rain, downing trees and damaging homes. Some areas grappled with intense flooding, while hundreds in the city of New Bern and North Carolina required rescue in the early hours of Saturday.
Parts of New Bern and North Carolina were 10 feet underwater after local rivers overflowed their banks. Thousands of people were staying in emergency shelters. Evacuation warnings were issued for 1.7 million people in the region, the US media reported.
Florence was slowly grinding over the eastern states, with winds of 65mph (105km/h). It was expected to keep lashing parts of North and South Carolina into the weekend, according to the Washington Post.
Up to 40 inches of rain and storm surges pushing water inland will produce catastrophic flash flooding, the National Hurricane Centre said.
Two people in Carteret County died due to the storm, officials said. A mother and her infant were killed in Wilmington when a tree fell on their home. According to officials, the child's father was also transported to hospital with injuries.
Two men in their 70s were killed in Lenoir County. One was killed while connecting an electrical generator and another man was killed in a wind-related incident when checking on dogs outside his property.
A county official said that a woman died from cardiac arrest in the town of Hampstead after emergency responders had their route to reach her blocked by downed trees.
The White House announced on Saturday that President Donald Trump approved a disaster declaration for North Carolina a day earlier, an order that opens up federal funding, including housing and home repair grants.
The storm originally made landfall at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, on Friday as a category one hurricane.
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said the hurricane was likely to "continue its violent grind for days" and described the severity of the downfalls as a "1,000 year event".
Almost 800,000 people are reported to be without power in North Carolina and officials have warned that restoring electricity could take days or even weeks.
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New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Friday said it will "very soon" challenge in the Supreme Court the constitutionality of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025 that has been passed in Parliament.
The opposition party also said it will continue to resist all "assaults" of the Modi government on the principles, provisions, and practices that are contained in the Constitution.
Parliament early Friday approved the Bill after the Rajya Sabha gave its nod to the contentious legislation following an over 13-hour debate.
In a post in Hindi on X, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, "The atmosphere in the country regarding the Waqf Board Amendment Bill is such that it feels like this bill has been brought to harass minorities. Late at night in the Lok Sabha, when this bill was passed, it received 288 votes in favour and 232 votes against. Why did this happen? This means there are many flaws in the bill."
From this, one can guess that despite opposition from various parties, this bill was brought arbitrarily, he said.
"This 'might is right' -- won’t be good for anyone!" Kharge said.
In a post on X, AICC general secretary in-charge organisation Jairam Ramesh said, "The INC will very soon be challenging in the Supreme Court the constitutionality of the Wakf (Amendment) Bill."
"We are confident and will continue to resist all assaults of the Modi Govt on the principles, provisions, and practices that are contained in the Constitution of India," he said.
The discussion on the Waqf Bill in the Rajya Sabha witnessed staunch objections from opposition parties, which termed the Bill "anti-Muslim" and "unconstitutional" with the government responding that the "historic reform" would benefit the minority community.
The Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha with 128 members voting in favour and 95 opposing it. It was passed in the Lok Sabha early Thursday, with 288 members supporting it and 232 against it.
Ramesh also said that the INC's challenge of the CAA, 2019 is being heard in the Supreme Court.
The INC's challenge of the 2019 amendments to the RTI Act, 2005 is being heard in the Supreme Court, he noted.
"The INC's challenge to the validity of the amendments to the Conduct of Election Rules (2024) is being heard in the Supreme Court.
"The INC's intervention to uphold the letter and spirit of the Places of Worship Act, 1991 is being heard in the Supreme Court," the Congress leader added.
The Waqf Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha with 128 members voting in favour and 95 opposing it. It was passed in the Lok Sabha early Thursday, with 288 members supporting it and 232 against it.
Parliament also approved the Mussalman Wakf (Repeal) Bill, 2025, with the Rajya Sabha giving its nod. The Lok Sabha had already given its assent to the Bill.
