Sri Lanka Catastrophe
The island nation continues to deal with the catastrophic impact of Cyclone Ditwah, which brought deadly floods and landslides.
Death toll rose to 212, with 218 missing and nearly 999,000 people from 273,606 families affected across 25 districts.
The Sri Lankan government has declared a State of Emergency. The disaster is compounded by the Kelani River rising to dangerous levels, leading to further flood alerts in the capital’s eastern suburbs.
India has intensified its humanitarian assistance under Operation Sagar Bandhu, deploying resources like the Chetak helicopter from INS Vikrant and sending NDRF personnel with 21 tonnes of relief material to assist the island nation.
Indian Air Force evacuated 55 individuals (including infants and critically injured) from 10 nationalities via Operation Sagar Bandhu, including 14 Sri Lankans and 12 Indians.
Cyclone Ditwah (Southwest Bay of Bengal)
The cyclonic storm intensified over the southwest Bay of Bengal, moving northwards at 12 km/h, centered approximately 100 km east-southeast of Cuddalore, India, as of 8:30 AM IST.
It is projected to run parallel to the Tamil Nadu–Puducherry coastline, approaching within 70 km by noon and 30 km by evening, bringing extremely heavy rainfall (up to 20-25 cm in isolated areas) and winds gusting to 80-90 km/h.
Red alerts issued for coastal Tamil Nadu districts; orange alerts for Chennai and Andhra Pradesh. Evacuations ongoing; 28 disaster response teams (including NDRF/SDRF) deployed.
Three deaths reported in Tamil Nadu from rain-related incidents (two wall collapses, one electrocution); 149 cattle deaths and 57,000 hectares of farmland damaged. Chennai Airport canceled 47 flights (36 domestic, 11 international).
Rough seas and high waves prompted fishing bans in affected districts.
DRR & CCA Conferences, Workshops, Reports, Concerns and Incidences
Accelerated Cyclones
The rapid intensification and destructive power of Cyclone Ditwah is a clear incidence of the accelerating climate crisis, as warming oceans provide more energy for tropical storms, making them more powerful and harder to predict.
Solar Radiation Threat
The grounding of thousands of Airbus jets due to solar radiation susceptibility highlights a major, often overlooked, climate-related security incidence: the increasing vulnerability of high-tech infrastructure (aviation, satellites, power grids) to space weather phenomena driven by solar activity.
Historical Disasters on This Day (October 21)
1755 – the Great Lisbon Earthquake
The Great Lisbon Earthquake, one of history’s deadliest natural disasters—struck Portugal on All Saints’ Day (November 1 by modern calendar, but records align with November 30 Julian adjustments in some accounts), registering ~8.5-9.0 magnitude.
It leveled Lisbon, triggering tsunamis up to 20 meters high and fires that raged for days, killing an estimated 60,000-100,000 people (up to 1/3 of the population).
The quake’s philosophical shockwaves influenced Enlightenment thinkers like Voltaire, who questioned divine providence in Candide, while it spurred seismic engineering advances and urban rebuilding under the Marquis de Pombal, creating one of Europe’s first earthquake-resistant cities.
1853 – Battle of Sinop Crimean War:
The Imperial Russian Navy destroyed the Ottoman fleet at Sinop, a sea port in northern Turkey.
1864 – The Battle of Franklin
The Battle of Franklin during the US Civil War stands as one of the war’s bloodiest hours.
Confederate General John Bell Hood launched a suicidal frontal assault on fortified Union lines in Tennessee, resulting in ~8,000 Confederate casualties (including 6 generals killed) in under five hours—earning it the grim nickname “McGavock’s Bloody Field” after the nearby family farm where many fell.
The defeat crippled the Army of Tennessee, hastening the Confederacy’s collapse, and highlighted the futility of outdated tactics against industrialized warfare.
1936 – Crystal Palace Fire in London
Crystal Palace Fire in London turned a symbol of industrial triumph into ashes. On November 30, this iron-and-glass marvel—built for the 1851 Great Exhibition—ignited mysteriously during renovations, its 3,300 tons of combustible material fueling flames visible for miles.
Though no lives were lost (evacuation was swift), the irreplaceable structure, home to cultural exhibits, was gutted in hours, underscoring vulnerabilities in early modern architecture and leading to stricter fire codes for public venues.
1939 – World War II’s Winter War
The Winter War erupted on this day when the Soviet Union invaded Finland, bombing Helsinki and deploying ~1 million troops against a vastly outnumbered foe.
The unprovoked assault, following Finland’s refusal of territorial concessions, killed ~26,000 Finns and ~127,000 Soviets over four months, forging Finnish national identity through guerrilla “motti” tactics and harsh winter conditions.
It exposed Stalin’s military weaknesses, delayed Barbarossa, and ended with the Moscow Peace Treaty—yet Finland retained independence, a rare David-vs.-Goliath victory.
1941 – Rumbula Massacre
The SS-Einsatzgruppen rounded up roughly 25,000 Jews from the Riga Ghetto and systematically killed them in the Rumbula massacre in Latvia.
1947 – Civil War in Mandatory Palestine Begins
The conflict leading up to the creation of the State of Israel began the day after the UN voted on a partition plan for Palestine, with Arab gunmen attacking two buses carrying Israeli passengers – killing 7 and sparking the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. This violence displaced thousands, foreshadowing decades of conflict and reshaping the Middle East’s geopolitical map.
1954 – Hodges Meteorite Incident
In Sylacauga, Alabama, the Hodges meteorite crashed through a roof and struck a woman taking a nap. She is the only person in history known to have been injured by a meteorite.
November 30 has a somber history marked by conflicts, fires, and natural calamities that reshaped societies and prompted reforms. The day often evokes themes of sudden devastation and human resilience amid war and environmental fury.
Stay vigilant; history whispers warnings.
यह हमारा एक छोटा सा प्रयास हैं, आपको हर दिन आपदा से जुड़ी नवीनतम जानकारियाँ प्रदान करने का –
विशेष रूप से वह आपदायें जो हिमालय व अन्य पहाड़ी क्षेत्रों में घटित हों.
हमारा यह प्रयास आपको कैसा लगा और कैसे हम इसे बेहतर व उपयोगी बना सकते हैं ?
हमेशा की तरह आपके सुझावों का हमें इंतजार रहेगा.
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