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Ten deadliest quakes of the 21st century

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Ten deadliest quakes of the 21st century

With the death toll rising by the hour, the massive earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on February 5 is already among the ten deadliest of the 21st century.

2004: 230,000 dead, southeast Asia

On December 26, a massive earthquake measuring 9.1 on the Richter scale strikes off the coast of Sumatra, triggering a tsunami that kills more than 230,000 throughout the region, including 170,000 in Indonesia alone.

Huge waves of 700 kph (around 435 mph) reach heights of 30 metres (100 feet).

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2010: 200,000 dead, Haiti

A magnitude 7 quake on January 12 devastates the capital Port-au-Prince and the surrounding region.

The quake cuts the country off from the rest of the world for 24 hours, killing over 200,000 people, leaving 1.5 million homeless and shattering much of its frail infrastructure.

In October the same year Haiti is also hit by a cholera epidemic introduced by Nepalese peacekeepers who had come after the quake. It kills more than 10,000 people.

2008: 87,000 dead, Sichuan

More than 87,000, including 5,335 school pupils, are left dead or missing when a 7.9-magnitude quake strikes southwestern Sichuan province on May 12.

Outrage erupts after it emerges 7,000 schools were badly damaged by the quake, triggering accusations of shoddy construction, corner-cutting and possible corruption, especially as many other buildings nearby held firm.

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2005: 75,000 dead, Kashmir

An October 8 earthquake kills more than 73,000 people, the vast majority of them in Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province and the Pakistani-administered zone of Kashmir state. Some 3.5 million people are displaced.

2003: 31,000 dead, Bam (Iran)

A 6.6-magnitude quake on December 26 in southeastern Iran destroys the ancient mud-brick city of Bam, killing at least 31,000 people.

Nearly 80 percent of Bam’s infrastructure is damaged, and the desert citadel, once considered the world’s largest adobe building, crumbles.

2001: 20,000 dead, India

A massive 7.7 earthquake on January 26 hits the western Indian state of Gujarat, killing more than 20,000 people.

The quake levelled buildings across the state, with many fatalities in the town of Bhuj near the Pakistan border.

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2011: 18,500 dead, Japan

On March 11, Japan is struck by an enormous 9.0-magnitude earthquake, unleashing a towering tsunami that levels communities along the country’s northeastern coast.

Around 18,500 people are left dead or missing as the terrifying wall of water travelling at the speed of a jet plane swallows up everything in its path.

The ensuing nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant blankets nearby areas with radiation, rendering some towns uninhabitable for years and displacing tens of thousands of residents.

2023: 11,200 dead, Turkey and Syria

On February 5, a 7.8 magnitude quake strikes near the Turkish city of Gaziantep, home to around two million people.

Followed by a slightly smaller 7.5 magnitude tremor and many aftershocks, the quakes devastate entire sections of major cities in southeastern Turkey and the north of war-ravaged Syria.

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The death toll reaches more than 11,200 three days after the disaster.

2015: 9,000 dead, Nepal

A 7.8-magnitude earthquake on April 25 strikes in central Nepal, triggering avalanches and landslides across the Himalayan nation, destroying schools and hospitals.

The massive quake kills almost 9,000 people and renders millions homeless, while also reducing more than a hundred monuments to rubble, including centuries-old temples and royal palaces in the capital’s Kathmandu valley.

2006: 6,000 dead, Java

On May 26, a 6.3-magnitude quake rocks the southern coast of the Indonesian island of Java, near the city of Yogyakarta, killing around 6,000 people.
More than 420,000 are left homeless and some 157,000 houses are destroyed.

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India formulate security plan for World Cup 2023

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India formulate security plan for World Cup 2023

 India have chalked out a comprehensive plan for multi-layer security and management of traffic for the upcoming ICC Men’s World Cup 2023. 

A security official told Indian media that arrangements had been made for smooth influx of fans into the stadiums and maintain uninterrupted traffic flow on roads.

He said multi-layer security plan had been designed for the mega event, adding that a communication system would also be established for seamless coordination between security agencies and local cricket association. 

The security teams would ensure the safe movement of teams from hotel to stadium and back by creating secure pathways. 

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As several stadiums, including Pune, are situated at a considerable distance from the city, seamless arrangements have been made to handle the logistical challenge in an effective way.

Commissioner of Pimpri Chinchwad police Vinoy Kumar Choubey said told Indian media, “We will be putting in place a multi-layer security cover in and around the stadium. A detailed plan for the same is in the making.

“Each layer will have a specific purpose and a pre-decided number of personnel and officers will be tasked to secure each layer. A communication channel has been established between the MCA office bearers and our team.”

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South Korea opposition leader ends 24-day hunger strike

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South Korea opposition leader ends 24-day hunger strike

 South Korea’s opposition leader ended a 24-day hunger strike on Saturday, a party spokesperson said, two days after parliament voted to let prosecutors serve an arrest warrant against him for alleged bribery.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, will maintain a schedule including court attendance while hospitalised for the time being, the spokesman told reporters.

Prosecutors this month sought the warrant in an investigation into bribery allegations concerning a development project. Prosecutors accuse Lee of asking a company to illegally transfer $8 million to North Korea when he was the governor of Gyeonggi Province.

He is also accused of breaching his duty over losses of 20 billion won ($15 million) by a municipal development corporation when he was mayor of Seongnam city.

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Lee, who lost South Korea’s presidential election to conservative Yoon Suk Yeol last year, has denied wrongdoing, calling the allegations “fiction” and a “political conspiracy”.

He began his protest on Aug. 31, citing the government’s economic mismanagement, threats to media freedom and the failure to oppose Japan’s release of wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant, among other reasons.

Thursday’s surprise vote by parliament, controlled by Lee’s party, has caused an uproar among his supporters.

Police on Saturday detained a man in his 40s who had posted the names of more than a dozen lawmakers outside Lee’s party faction, writing “gotta search for the sniper rifle at home”, said an official with the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police. Police will seek an arrest warrant against him for intimidation, the official said.

South Korea is to hold parliamentary elections in April.

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Landslide causes large chunk of Swedish motorway to collapse

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Landslide causes large chunk of Swedish motorway to collapse

 A large chunk of a motorway in southwest Sweden collapsed overnight, causing three people to be taken to hospital with light injuries, police said on Saturday.

The landslide damaged the motorway between Sweden’s second-biggest city Gothenburg and Norway’s capital Oslo, near the small town of Stenungsund, around 50 km north of Gothenburg on Sweden’s west coast.

“The landslide has affected an area of around 100 x 150 meters, around ten vehicles, a wooded area, and a business area with a gas station and a fast food restaurant,” the Gothenburg Rescue Services said.

“A number of people have been helped out of vehicles in the slide area with the help of fire personnel and a helicopter,” they said. Several cars and one truck had fallen into holes and cracks caused by the landslide, Swedish news agency TT reported.

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A rescue services spokesperson told public broadcaster SVT all people in the vehicles had been helped out. The rescue services said specially trained staff and search dogs would now search the area, and that further slides could not be ruled out.

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