A gunman who opened fire during a Halloween street celebration that drew thousands of costumed revellers to downtown Orlando killed two people and wounded six others early Friday, authorities said. Officers quickly arrested a 17-year-old male suspect, the city's police Chief Eric Smith said during a briefing. Authorities have not yet determined a motive. The shooter fired in in the city's downtown bar and restaurant district around 1 am. Officers responded as costumed celebrants fled on foot, and the same gunman then fired again about a block away, Smith said. The six wounded, who range in age from 19 to 39, were taken to a hospital and were in stable condition, Smith said. Smith showed video from street security cameras and a police body camera that recorded the shootings and the suspect's arrest. After the initial shots were fired, police used security video to put out a description of the suspect, but police then saw him open fire at the second location, Smith said. "Whatever his mindset was, he was going to shoot no matter what,"Smith said. Authorities recovered a handgun at the arrest scene and have no other suspects, he said. Police announced later Friday that the 17-year-old has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder with a firearm and six counts of attempted first-degree murder with a firearm. More than 100 officers were patrolling the crowds estimated between 50,000 and 100,000 people who were out celebrating Halloween on Thursday night and early Friday morning in what is one of the biggest events in downtown Orlando each year, Smith said. The Halloween celebration took place about 10 miles (16 km) from Orlando's tourist district, and it primarily attracts central Florida residents. Tens of thousands of revellers also usually celebrate downtown on the Saturday after Halloween. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer on Friday issued a local state of emergency for the downtown entertainment area. For the next seven days, alcohol sales will end at midnight, and a curfew will be enforced from 1 am to 5 am. "We don't make this decision lightly, and we have pursed a number of other measures before reaching this point," Dyer said. During past Halloween celebrations, police would close off downtown streets and use dogs to screen for weapons as people walked past entry points, but they changed their procedures after Florida lawmakers passed a permit-less concealed carry law in 2023, the police chief said. "You can carry a weapon on a public street, if you meet certain criteria," Smith said. "So then that changed, we could no longer do that." Florida State Attorney Andrew Baine said his agency is awaiting more information from the police investigating before deciding whether the teen will be charged as an adult. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
02 November,2024 01:02 PM IST | Orlando (US) | APThree days after historic flash floods swept through several towns in southern Valencia, in eastern Spain, the initial shock was giving way to anger, frustration and a wave of solidarity on Friday. Many streets are still blocked by piled-up vehicles and debris, in some cases trapping residents in their homes. Some places still don’t have electricity, running water, or stable telephone connections. Residents turned to media to appeal for help. “This is a disaster. There are a lot of elderly people who don’t have medicine. There are children who don’t have food. We don’t have milk, we don’t have water. We have no access to anything,” a resident of Alfafar, one of the most affected towns in south Valencia, told state television station TVE. “No one even came to warn us on the first day.” So far 205 bodies have been recovered—202 in Valencia, two in the Castilla La Mancha region and one more in Andalusia—after Spain’s deadliest natural disaster in living memory. Members of the security forces and soldiers are busy searching for an unknown number of missing people, many feared to still be trapped in wrecked vehicles or flooded garages. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
02 November,2024 08:07 AM IST | Madrid | AgenciesTyphoon Kong-rey, one of the most powerful storms to hit Taiwan in decades, made landfall on Thursday, resulting in significant destruction, widespread evacuations, and the tragic death of a woman. As of Friday morning, strong winds and heavy rain from the storm had caused two deaths, injured 515 people and left four others unaccounted for, reported the Central Emergency Operation Center (CEOC). By Friday morning, 11,588 people had been evacuated and 134 emergency shelters had been set up in 13 municipalities, with 2,620 people taking shelter, the CEOC said. The CEOC said that around 21,000 households are still without water and service would be fully restored before noon on Saturday. In addition, more than 8,43,000 households experienced power outages, with more than 1,19,000 still waiting for power to be restored. A total of 108 cases of flooding had been reported across the nation, with 23 still unresolved. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
02 November,2024 07:59 AM IST | Taipei | AgenciesAmidst tension between India and the US over the alleged targeting of Sikh separatists by India, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke over the phone with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval during which they discussed regional security developments, bilateral issues including defence cooperation. The two also discussed the need for further efforts to ensure stability in the Indo-Pacific region and globally, the White House said in a readout of the call. “They welcomed progress in the bilateral partnership, including through the upcoming initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) Intersessional and Indian Ocean Dialogue. They also discussed further opportunities for closer collaboration in key domains, including clean energy supply chains and defence cooperation,” it said. The two spoke over the phone on Wednesday. “They also discussed further opportunities for closer collaboration in key domains, including clean energy supply chains and defence cooperation,” said the White House. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
02 November,2024 07:52 AM IST | Washington | AgenciesUS Vice Presidential hopeful Tim Walz attended a Diwali celebration at a prominent Hindu temple in Pennsylvania, reaching out to the Indian-Americans in the crucial battleground state as the race for White House heads towards a photo-finish. In his brief remarks at the event in the Bharatiya Temple in Montgomery County on Thursday, the Democratic leader highlighted the “rising” political voice of the Indian-American community in the US and urged them to save energy to “celebrate” Kamala Harris’s “victory” in the presidential election next week. “Happy Diwali everyone. It is a privilege for me to be with you on this special day,” he said. “The Indian and the South Asian community are so much a fabric of our state and our identity,” the Minnesota governor said, drawing cheers from the audience. Besides lighting a diya, Walz posed for selfies, greeted Indians with a “Namaste” and exchanged pleasantries. Pennsylvania is one of the seven battleground states which is expected to play a critical role in the overall election outcome. “On this happiest day of light over darkness, I hope you find peace, find calm and save a little energy to celebrate next Wednesday morning,” Walz said, referring to Election Day. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
02 November,2024 07:37 AM IST | Washington | AgenciesSeven people, including five schoolchildren and a policeman, were killed while 17 others were injured on Friday in a remote-controlled blast targeting a police van in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province. The blast occurred at 8.35 am near a girl's high school at the Civil Hospital Chowk of the Mastung district of the province. Terrorists used a remote control device to detonate explosive material hidden in a parked motorbike, officials said. "It was an IED (improvised explosive device) used in the blast, and the target apparently was a police mobile parked near the school," Kalat Division Commissioner Naeem Bazai said. The IED detonated when the police mobile came close to it, and a school van was caught in the mayhem. The police van and several auto-rickshaws were also damaged in the explosion. "The blast was so powerful that schoolchildren who were going to the school at that time were hit by the explosion," Bazai added. Mastung District Police Officer (DPO) Miandad Umrani confirmed that five schoolchildren, one police official and a civilian were killed in the blast. The 17 injured, including schoolchildren between the ages of eight and 13 as well as policemen, were shifted to various hospitals in the province. Those with the most serious injuries were taken to the capital Quetta for treatment. According to DPO Umrani, 11 people were moved to the Quetta Trauma Centre for treatment. TV footage after the attack showed policemen and other people surrounding a charred vehicle. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet, but ethnic Baloch terrorists and Taliban terrorists often attack the security forces in the province, which has been facing a low-level insurgency for about two decades now. Meanwhile, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti took to X to condemn the blast, calling it “inhumane”. He said terrorists had now “targeted innocent children along with poor labourers” in an apparent reference to a recent attack by unidentified gunmen at a dam construction site in the province's Panjgur district, which killed five workers and injured two others. “We will avenge the murder of innocent children and people,” CM said, adding that civilians in urban areas also needed to be on the watch for the terrorists. “The monster of terrorism can only be fought together,” he said. He added that terrorists had targeted children, deeming them to be a “soft target”. In the aftermath of the blast, an emergency was declared across all Quetta hospitals, Geo News reported, quoting the provincial health department spokesperson, adding that all doctors, pharmacists, staff nurses and other medical staff were summoned. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
01 November,2024 04:59 PM IST | Islamabad/Karachi | PTIThe death toll from Israeli strikes in the central Gaza Strip rose to 25, including five children, as more bodies have been recovered, hospital officials said Friday. Sixteen people had initially been reported killed in two strikes on Thursday on the central Nuseirat refugee camp, but officials from the Al-Aqsa hospital said bodies continued to be brought in. Overall, the hospital said they had received 21 dead bodies from the strikes, including some transferred from the Awda hospital, where they had been brought the day before. One of the strikes killed an 18-month-old and his 10-year-old sister — the children's mother was missing as of Friday and the father was killed by an Israeli airstrike four months ago, the family told AP journalists at Aqsa hospital. Strikes on a motorcycle in Zuwaida and on a house in Deir al-Balah on Friday killed four more, the hospital officials said, bringing the overall toll to 25. The Israeli military did not comment on the specific strikes but said it had killed armed militants in central and southern Gaza Thursday. Israel's blistering offensive on the Gaza Strip has killed over 43,000 Palestinians since October 7, 2023, say health officials inside Gaza who do not distinguish between civilians and combatants. They say over half of the dead are women and children. Israel began bombarding Gaza after the Hamas attack on Israel October 7, when the militants killed roughly 1,200 people and took some 250 hostages back to Gaza. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
01 November,2024 04:54 PM IST | Deir Al-Balah (Gaza Strip) | PTIA devastating explosion in Balochistan’s Mastung district on Friday morning claimed the lives of at least five people, including three young school children and a police officer. The targeted attack, which reportedly aimed at a police van stationed near Civil Hospital Chowk, left over a dozen others wounded, many of them children, according to Dawn. The explosion occurred close to the Girls High School in Mastung, causing extensive damage to vehicles in the area. District Police Officer (DPO) Miandad Umrani confirmed the tragic outcome, stating, "Five people, including a policeman and three schoolchildren, were martyred in the blast." He further disclosed that twelve people were injured, among them four police officers. Preliminary investigations suggest the explosives were rigged to a motorcycle and detonated remotely as the police vehicle passed by. "The blast occurred near a police van at Civil Hospital Chowk," DPO Umrani explained, noting that the blast impacted the police van as well as several auto-rickshaws in close proximity, according to Dawn's report. Footage from the scene captured the widespread devastation, with emergency responders and local residents rushing to aid the injured and secure the area. Witnesses recounted seeing the police van engulfed in flames as thick smoke filled the air. Most of the injured were schoolchildren, who were swiftly transported to Civil Hospital Mastung for medical attention. Police officials shared that the ages of the deceased children ranged from 5 to 13 years. The explosion also caused substantial damage to other vehicles nearby, including a number of auto-rickshaws stationed at the site. Given the scale of injuries, Balochistan’s provincial health department declared an emergency across all hospitals in Quetta, including Civil Hospital, BMC Hospital, and the Trauma Centre. A spokesperson for the health department announced that "all doctors, pharmacists, staff nurses, and other medical staff have been summoned." Critically injured patients were transferred to Quetta's Trauma Centre, with one victim reportedly in a grave condition, as per Geo News. Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti condemned the tragic incident, expressing deep sorrow over the loss of lives. He offered his condolences to the families of the deceased, remarking, "Terrorists have now targeted innocent children along with labourers." Bugti also called upon the local community to maintain vigilance, stating, "Locals among the civilian population also have to keep an eye on the terrorists. The monster of terrorism can only be fought together." Acting President and Senate Chairman Yousuf Raza Gillani also conveyed his condolences, condemning the violence and affirming solidarity with security forces. "Terrorist elements are an enemy to humanity. The nation stands strong beside the security forces and law enforcement agencies against terrorism," he declared. Police and investigative teams have since launched a search operation to apprehend those responsible, emphasising that all available resources will be used to bring the perpetrators to justice. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, though security officials are continuing their investigation, as per ANI. This tragic incident is part of a series of recent attacks in the region that have placed increased pressure on security forces and the local government to maintain order and protect civilians from escalating acts of terrorism. The authorities have reiterated their commitment to safeguarding the public and pursuing justice for the victims of this latest attack.
01 November,2024 01:00 PM IST | MastungHindu American groups have expressed strong appreciation for Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump, following his recent commitment to safeguard the human rights of Hindus worldwide, including those residing in the United States and Bangladesh. Trump, in a message marking Diwali, vowed to shield Hindu communities globally from what he termed as the "anti-religion agenda of the radical left." During his Diwali greetings delivered on Thursday, Trump condemned the "barbaric violence" inflicted on Hindus, Christians, and other minorities in Bangladesh, calling the situation in the country a "total state of chaos." Trump stated, “This would never have happened under my leadership. Kamala Harris and Joe Biden have disregarded Hindus across the globe and in America. Their policies have been disastrous, from Israel to Ukraine and even on our Southern Border, but we will make America strong again and restore peace through strength." In addition to pledging international support, Trump also addressed concerns of Hindu Americans, promising to protect them from any “anti-religion” agendas. He highlighted his commitment to strengthening the US-India partnership, citing his longstanding friendship with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "We will protect Hindu Americans and their rights, fighting for your freedom," he emphasised. "Under my administration, we will also reinforce our great alliance with India and my good friend, Prime Minister Modi." Utsav Sanduja, founder and chairman of Hindus for America First, extended his thanks to Trump, stating to PTI, “I am eternally grateful to President Trump. His understanding of the challenges faced by Hindus, both in America and abroad, is deeply appreciated. It’s a shame that Kamala Harris has remained silent on these matters. I believe Trump’s stance on this issue will bring about significant changes in the coming election.” In addition, HinduAction, a Hindu American advocacy group, also thanked Trump for his outspoken support, noting, “As you rightly pointed out, the situation for Hindus in Bangladesh is precarious. We maintain an ongoing record of incidents highlighting the atrocities committed against Hindus in Bangladesh.” Nathan Punwani, an Indian American activist, expressed his gratitude towards Trump’s leadership and moral clarity. “Thank you, President Trump, for unequivocally condemning anti-Hindu pogroms in Bangladesh,” Punwani stated. He went on to describe Trump as a “great leader” with a sincere concern for the issues facing Hindu, Buddhist, and Sikh communities, especially those experiencing persecution in Bangladesh. Sanduja also emphasised Trump’s support for religious minorities, noting how his Diwali statement could significantly impact the Hindu American community. “Delivering such a statement on Diwali, a highly auspicious occasion, is indeed significant. Many within the Hindu community have played their part in briefing President Trump’s team, sharing insights and concerns about the ongoing religious issues in Bangladesh,” he said. Sanduja referenced recent polling data from the Carnegie Endowment, which indicates a shift among Indian American voters. “Currently, 60 per cent of Indian Americans support Kamala Harris, a drop from the 68 per cent that backed Biden in the last election. Meanwhile, Trump’s support among Indian Americans has increased from 22 per cent to 32 per cent,” Sanduja noted, adding that this statement could sway more Indian Americans to back Trump in the election. According to Sanduja, the statement would open the eyes of more Indian American voters and foster greater support for Trump among Hindu Americans. (With inputs from PTI)
01 November,2024 10:41 AM IST | WashingtonDonald Trump is traveling to New Mexico and Virginia in the campaign's final days, taking a risky detour from the seven battleground states to spend time in places where Republican presidential candidates have not won in decades. The former president campaigned in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Thursday and was scheduled to visit Salem, Virginia, on Saturday. The Trump team is projecting optimism based in part on early voting numbers and thinks he can be competitive against Democrat Kamala Harris in both states ' New Mexico in particular, if he sweeps swing states Nevada and Arizona. That hope comes even though neither New Mexico nor Virginia has been carried by a GOP nominee for the White House since George W. Bush in 2004. Over the past few months in particular, the battleground states ' Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin ' have seen a constant stream of candidate visits, and residents have been bombarded with political ads on billboards, televisions and smartphones. In the past two weeks alone, presidential and vice presidential candidates have made 21 appearances in Pennsylvania, 17 in Michigan and 13 in North Carolina. In the 43 other states, a candidate visit is an exciting novelty. Trump retains fervent pockets of support even in states that vote overwhelmingly against him, and he can easily fill his rallies with enthusiastic supporters. He has made other recent detours from the states most at play, holding rallies at Madison Square Garden in New York and in Coachella, California ' states that are even more solidly Democratic than New Mexico and Virginia. Those events satisfied Trump's long-shot claims that he can win both states, but were also aimed at earning maximum media attention as his campaign seeks to reach voters who do not follow political news closely. Trump also showed up in staunchly Republican Montana, and both Trump and Harris campaigned on the same day last week in Texas, which Democrats last won in 1976. Those trips served other purposes, such as highlighting issues important in a state or supporting House or Senate candidates. Trump said in Albuquerque that he could win the state as long as the election is fair, repeating falsehoods about rigged past elections. 'If we could bring God down from heaven, he could be the vote counter and we could win this," Trump said. He added he's visiting New Mexico because it's 'good for my credentials' with Hispanic voters. Trump's strategy carries risk. After losing to Trump in 2016, Democrat Hillary Clinton was criticized for going to Arizona late in the campaign instead of spending time in Wisconsin, Michigan or Pennsylvania, states that ended up deciding that election. Arizona is now a battleground, but it wasn't considered particularly competitive eight years ago, when it voted for Trump by a 4-percentage point margin. 'I don't think there's any strategy,' said Bob Shrum, a longtime Democratic political consultant who worked on numerous presidential campaigns and now leads Center for the Political Future at University of Southern California. 'I think he insisted on doing it. It makes no sense.' New Mexico stop brings Trump to a border stateThe planned visit to Albuquerque brings Trump and his immigration stance to a border state with the nation's highest concentration of Latino voters, highlighting the campaign for Hispanic supporters. About 44% of the voting-age population in New Mexico identifies as Hispanic. Many have centuries-old ties to Mexican and Spanish settlements, while the state has a smaller share of foreign-born residents than the national average. At the same time, federal and local authorities in New Mexico are dealing with a surge in migrant deaths along the U.S. border with Mexico. Trump's visit has implications for a congressional swing district stretching from Albuquerque to the border with Mexico. It's now held by a Democrat as Republicans look to hold onto their narrow House majority. Immigration has been a major issue in the race. Also on the ballot, Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich is seeking a third term against Republican Nella Domenici. She is the daughter of the late Republican Sen. Pete Domenici, who served six terms, from 1973 to 2009 and was the last New Mexico Republican elected to the Senate. Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. remains on the ballot in New Mexico, and roadside campaign signs for Kennedy popped up across the capital city of Santa Fe in late October, about two months after Kennedy's withdrawal from the race and endorsement of Trump. New Mexico voters have twice rebuffed Trump at the polls, and Democrats hold every statewide elected position, all three congressional seats and majorities in the state House and Senate. 'He just brings us back to what the U.S. needs to be,' Leandra Dominguez of Albuquerque, 45, said before Trump spoke. 'It's just fallen apart. We just need someone to save us.' Virginia was once a battlegroundWhile Virginia was considered a battleground as recently as 2012, it has trended toward Democrats in the past decade, especially in the populous northern Virginia suburbs. Trump lost the state to Clinton in 2016 and Democrat Joe Biden in 2020. This year, Democrats and their allies in the presidential race have spent nearly twice as much as Republicans on ads in Virginia, data show, though it pales in comparison to the spending in battleground states.
01 November,2024 10:28 AM IST | Albuquerque | APCrews searched for bodies in stranded cars and sodden buildings Thursday as residents salvaged what they could from their ruined homes following monstrous flash floods in Spain that claimed at least 158 lives, with 155 deaths confirmed in the eastern Valencia region alone. More horrors emerged Thursday from the debris and ubiquitous layers of mud left by the walls of water that produced Spain's deadliest natural disaster in living memory. The damage from the storm late Tuesday and early Wednesday recalled the aftermath of a tsunami, with survivors left to pick up the pieces as they mourn their loved ones. Cars were piled on one another like fallen dominoes, uprooted trees, downed power lines and household items all mired in mud that covered streets in dozens of communities in Valencia, a region south of Barcelona on the Mediterranean coast. An unknown number of people are still missing and more victims could be found. 'Unfortunately, there are dead people inside some vehicles,' Spain's Transport Minister Óscar Puente said early Thursday before the death toll spiked from 95 on Wednesday night. Rushing water turned narrow streets into death traps and spawned rivers that tore through homes and businesses, sweeping away cars, people and everything else in its path. The floods demolished bridges and left roads unrecognizable. Luís Sánchez, a welder, said he saved several people who were trapped in their cars on the flooded V-31 highway south of Valencia city. The road rapidly became a floating graveyard strewn with hundreds of vehicles. 'I saw bodies floating past. I called out, but nothing,' Sánchez said. 'The firefighters took the elderly first, when they could get in. I am from nearby so I tried to help and rescue people. People were crying all over, they were trapped.' Regional authorities said late Wednesday that rescuers in helicopters saved some 70 people stranded on rooftops and in cars, but ground crews were far from done. 'We are searching house by house,' Ángel Martínez, one of 1,000 soldiers helping with rescue efforts told Spain's national radio RNE from the town of Utiel, where at least six people died. An Associated Press journalist saw rescuers remove seven body bags from an underground garage in Barrio de la Torre. 'Our priority is to find the victims and the missing so we can help end the suffering of their families,' Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said after meeting with officials and emergency services in Valencia on Thursday, the first of three official days of mourning. An extraordinary' deluge Spain's Mediterranean coast is used to autumn storms that can cause flooding, but this was the most powerful flash flood in recent memory. Scientists link it to climate change, which is also behind increasingly high temperatures and droughts in Spain and the heating up of the Mediterranean Sea. Human-caused climate change has doubled the likelihood of a storm like this week's deluge in Valencia, according to a rapid but partial analysis Thursday by World Weather Attribution, comprising dozens of international scientists who study global warming's role in extreme weather. Spain has suffered through an almost two-year drought, meaning that when the deluge happened, the ground was so hard that it could not absorb the rain, leading to flash floods. The violent weather event surprised regional government officials. Spain's national weather service said it rained more in eight hours in the Valencian town of Chiva than it had in the preceding 20 months. A man wept as he showed a reporter from national broadcaster RTVE the shell of what was once the ground floor of his home in Catarroja, south of Valencia. It looked as though a bomb had detonated inside, obliterating furniture and belongings, and stripping the paint off some walls. In Paiporta, mayor Maribel Albalat said Thursday that at least 62 people had perished in the ommunity of 25,000 next to Valencia city. '(Paiporta) never has floods, we never have this kind of problem. And we found a lot of elderly people in the town center,' Albalat told RTVE. 'There were also a lot of people who came to get their cars out of their garages ... it was a real trap.' Farms damagedWhile the most suffering was inflicted on municipalities near the city of Valencia, the storms unleashed their fury over huge swaths of the south and eastern coast of the Iberian peninsula. Two fatalities were confirmed in the neighboring Castilla La Mancha region and one in southern Andalusia. Greenhouses and farms across southern Spain, known as Europe's garden for its exported produce, were also ruined by heavy rains and flooding. The storms spawned a freak tornado in Valencia and a hail storm that punched holes in cars in Andalusia. Homes were left without water as far southwest as Malaga in Andalusia. Heavy rains continued Thursday farther north as the Spanish weather agency issued alerts for several counties in Castellón, in the eastern Valencia region, and for Tarragona in Catalonia, as well as southwest Cadiz. 'This storm front is still with us,' the prime minister said. 'Stay home and heed the official recommendation and you will help save lives.' Frustration brews as residents hunt for basic supplies. As the shock dissipated, anger grew over the authorities' handling of the crisis, both for their late warnings of the looming floods and the chaotic relief response. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
01 November,2024 10:28 AM IST | Spain | APADVERTISEMENT
