India to begin mass cremation of flood
victims
Published on Jun 24, 2013
1:41 PM
Stranded Indian pilgrims wait to be rescued on the side of a river at Govind Ghat on June 23, 2013. Indian priests are
planning to cremate hundreds of flood victims on Monday, as heavy rains halted the search for thousands of tourists stranded
in the devastated Himalayan region, officials said. -- FILE PHOTO: AFP
GAUCHAR, India (AFP) - Indian priests are planning to cremate hundreds of flood victims on Monday, as
heavy rains halted the search for thousands of tourists stranded in the devastated Himalayan region,
officials said.
Up to 1,000 people are feared dead and more than 8,000 mainly pilgrims and tourists are still awaiting
rescue nine days after flash floods and landslides caused by torrential monsoon rains hit the state of
Uttarakhand.
"580 people have lost their lives and many more bodies are yet to be pulled out from isolated areas that are
completely cut-off," Mr K.N. Pandey, an official with the state disaster management team, told AFP.
Preparations were underway for a mass cremation in the flood-ravaged holy town of Kedarnath, with
rescue workers ordered to collect tonnes of fire wood, amid concerns of an outbreak of disease from
rotting bodies, officials said.
"We have decided to start (a) mass cremation today. The priests of temples have been requested to
participate in the final rites," Mr Pandey said.
Military helicopters have been grounded because of bad weather, suspending the evacuation by air of those
still stranded, many without food and water, in remote areas of the state, known as the "Land of the Gods"
for its revered Hindu shrines.
"We can only use the helicopters when the weather is clear. Rescue work can only resume when rains
stop," said a senior army official in New Delhi.
Helicopters and thousands of soldiers have been deployed to help with the rescue efforts, with thousands of
people already evacuated since the rains hit on June 15. Soldiers along with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police
have been using harnesses and erecting rope bridges across flooded rivers as part of efforts to move people
to safety.
Raging rivers have swept away houses, buildings and even entire villages in the state, which was packed
with travellers in what is a peak tourist season.
More than 1,000 bridges have been damaged along with roads, cutting off hard-hit villages and towns.
Around 120 bodies were recovered from the Kedarnath temple area on Sunday and more were feared to be
lying in a nearby jungle where tourists took refuge after hotels and other buildings collapsed in the deluge,
officials have said.
In the adjacent state of Himachal Pradesh, 20 people have also been killed.
Floods and landslides from monsoon rains have also struck neighbouring Nepal, leaving at least 39 people
dead, according to the government in Kathmandu.
The monsoon, which covers the subcontinent from June to September, usually brings some flooding. But
the heavy rains arrived early this year, catching many by surprise and exposing a lack of preparedness.
1,000 killed in Indian monsoon flash floods
and landslides: Official
Published on Jun 24, 2013
5:09 PM
A man is pulled across to safety on a rope, as damaged buildings and the Alaknanda river are seen in the background, during
a rescue operation in Govindghat in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand on June 23, 2013. Around 1,000 people are now
known to have died in devastating flash floods and landslides triggered by monsoon rains in northern India, a top disaster
official said Monday, June 24, 2013. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
NEW DELHI (AFP) - Around 1,000 people are now known to have died in devastating flash floods and
landslides triggered by monsoon rains in northern India, a top disaster official said Monday.
"The official information with us is that about 1,000 people have died," Yashpal Arya, the disaster relief
minister for the worst-hit state of Uttarakhand, told AFP.
"It is difficult to say if the toll is higher because our focus is currently on rescuing those stranded," he
added.
Indian priests were preparing to cremate hundreds of victims of the disaster even as 8,000 mainly pilgrims
and tourists were still awaiting rescue nine days after flash floods and landslides hit the state of
Uttarakhand.
“The official information with us is that about 1,000 people have died,” Yashpal Arya, the disaster relief
minister for Uttarakhand, told AFP. Senior officials warned that the death toll could rise above 1,000 as
flood waters recede and debris is cleared by emergency workers, showing the full extent of the disaster in
the mountainous region, known as the “Land of the Gods” for its revered Hindu shrines.
Raging rivers have swept away houses, buildings and even entire villages in the state, which was packed
with travellers in what is a peak tourist season. More than 1,000 bridges have been damaged along with
roads, cutting off hard-hit villages and towns.
A doctor recounted a harrowing ordeal of walking with his family for 20 kilometres (12 miles) at night on
a road strewn with bodies trapped under rocks from landslides to try to escape the devastation.J.P. Semwal
and his wife and two children trekked from the town of Kedarnath to another town from where they were
airlifted to Dehradun. “We followed the bodies that littered the route because we knew the bodies were of
those who tried to escape earlier to safety,” Dr Semwal, 65, told AFP.
Preparations were under way for a mass cremation in the holy town of Kedarnath and elsewhere, with
rescue workers ordered to collect tonnes of fire wood, amid concerns of an outbreak of disease from
rotting bodies, officials said.
“The priests of temples have been requested to participate in the final rites,” disaster management official
K.N. Pandey told AFP.
Bad weather has grounded military helicopters, hampering the evacuation of people still stranded, many
without food and water. Helicopters and thousands of
soldiers have been deployed to help with the rescue efforts, with thousands of people already evacuated
since the rains hit on June 15.
Soldiers along with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police have been using harnesses and erecting rope bridges
across flooded rivers as part of efforts to move
people to safety.
Floods and landslides from monsoon rains have also struck neighbouring Nepal, leaving at least 39 people
dead, according to the government in Kathmandu. The monsoon, which covers the subcontinent from June
to September, usually brings flooding. But the heavy rains arrived early this year, catching many
by surprise and exposing a lack of preparedness.
Alberta promises $1.2 billion in flood
funding, won't balance budget
Published on Jun 25, 2013
6:42 AM

Alberta Premier Alison Redford (centre), addresses the media as Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi (left), and Alberta
Municipal Affairs Minister Doug Griffiths look on during a news conference in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, on June 21, 2013.
Ms Redford on Monday promised C$1 billion (S$1.2 billion) in initial funding to help pay for damage caused by major
flooding this past weekend, and said the oil-rich province would no longer be able to balance its operating budget this year. - FILE PHOTO: AP
TORONTO (REUTERS) - Alberta Premier Alison Redford on Monday promised C$1 billion (S$1.2
billion) in initial funding to help pay for damage caused by major flooding this past weekend, and said the
oil-rich province would no longer be able to balance its operating budget this year.
Ms Redford said funding was a preliminary contribution to pay for the initial cost of cleaning up the floods
in southern Alberta that began last week and for those that affected the oil sands centre of Fort McMurray
earlier this month.
The province said some of the money would be used to provide cash to thousands of evacuees and to help
home and business owners anxious to begin reconstruction after the worst floods in the province's history.
Ms Redford said the initial funding would come from the province's contingency fund. The fund once held
C$11 billion but has dwindled since the financial crisis.
Ms Redford, who was speaking to reporters at a news conference overlooking the still-swollen Bow River
and the closed towers of Calgary's downtown, said the fund could handle the expense because of her
government's plan, introduced in the March budget, to tap financial markets to fund infrastructure spending.
However, the government had planned to balance the operating side of its budget in the current fiscal year.
Now, with the prospect of paying at least C$1 billion to repair flood-damaged infrastructure, Ms Redford
backed away from that promise.
"Are we sticking to plans to balance the budget?" Ms Redford said at a news conference in Calgary. "No
we're not."
The costs of the flood, which killed at least three people, has not yet been tallied. But much of the bill for
reconstruction will come from the federal government under a complex funding formula. However,
Redford warned that work could stretch out for as long as a decade.
"I don't want to scare people," she said. "But when we talk about what's going to happen, we're talking
about a 10-year plan."