At least four persons have been killed when caught in snow avalanches at Plarhiyed, a remote hilly area in Jammu and Kashmir's eastern district of Kishtwar, a report received here on Sunday said.

Angra Dos Reis (Brazil): Rescuers pulled more bodies from an avalanche of thick mud and rock that buried a luxury Brazilian hotel filled with New Year's revellers, as the death toll from heavy rains in the south of the country rose to 63.

This paper on the state of Himalayan Glaciers by V K Raina, ex Deputy Director of GSI presents a historical review of the research to date spanning more than fifty years, and claims that it is premature to accept that Himalayan glaciers are retreating abnormally because of global warming.

The dizzy Himalayan heights are far removed from the valley of the Brahmaputra. But close to the river, two experienced designers are developing what will be a lifesaver in the mountains. In the Design Department of IIT Guwahati is being shaped an advanced gear to help people survive an avalanche.

Unusually powerful mudslides have killed at least 18 people in the Central Asian republic of Tajikistan this month, the emergencies ministry said on Tuesday.

Landslides happen every year in Tajikistan but they were stronger than usual this spring due to very heavy rainfall. That has added hardship to the mountainous nation of seven million already hit hard by the global economic downturn.

Six mountain climbers were killed in an avalanche near the ski resort of Soelden in the Austrian Alps at the weekend, regional police said Sunday.

Witnesses spotted the snowslide in glacier-dotted highlands Saturday and alerted alpine rescuers but they could not reach the scene by helicopter until Sunday due to poor weather, police in the Tirol provincial capital Innsbruck said.

Eight persons were killed in Pakistan

Srinagar: Seven soldiers were buried alive under a snow avalanche that hit an Army post in the Shamshbari range of forests in Kupwara district during the intervening night of April 13 and 14.

At least seven Indian soldiers died on Tuesday after avalanches triggered by fresh snow hit military posts near the country's border with Pakistan in Kashmir, an army spokesman said.

He said eight soldiers were rescued by an army search team in Shamsbari area near the Line of Control, a ceasefire line that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan.

Clouds contribute significantly to the formation of many of the natural hazards. Hence cloud mapping and its classification becomes a major component of the various physical models which are used for forecasting natural hazards.

Pages