Deadly tornado kills seven in Iowa, millions under threat of storms from Atlanta to Philadelphia

Parts of the United States face threats of storms after a tornado left seen people dead in Iowa. The dead included two children, and dozens of homes felt the impact. Media reports say the storms could affect millions of people from Atlanta to Philadelphia. The main threats would come in the form of isolated tornadoes and damaging winds. There would also be heavy rain especially across the Ohio River Valley. The authorities have issued flood warnings. This is because of continuous rainfall in the region over the past two weeks. That has saturated the soil and it would mean floods.

It is necessary for people to take advance action and be prepared to face such situations. There could be power failures and powerful torches, batteries and electrical generators could help. Knowledge on location of storm shelters and medical facilities are important. Climatic disturbances like tornadoes and heavy rainfall would make travel difficult. In fact, residents should avoid going out and stock up on essentials like food, clean water, and medicines.

Source -

edition.cnn.com dated 7 March 2022

Thieves make away with sandalwood trees from Santiniketan

Sandalwood trees fetch a good price and, hence, thieves have begun to steal the trees from Santiniketan - as a result, the police have formed a special team to investigate these frequent thefts and have questioned at least 150 people, including timber traders and residents, to find out who are involved in the racket but have drawn a blank so far.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 13 December 2015.

Forest department people have informed that sandalwood trees grew naturally in Santiniketan and its neighborhood because of the laterite soil.
The thieves have made off with at least eight sandalwood trees this year from various places in Santiniketan which points the finger of suspicion on an organized racket with possibilities of involvement of a section of timber merchants of north Bengal because there are active tree-stealing rackets in the forests of north Bengal.
Sandalwood is quite costly since it is used to make medicines, cosmetics and artefacts and, a full-grown tree could cost around Rs 22 lakh. Obviously, trading in sandalwood is profitable.
The police suspect the thieves to be operating from the Bolpur area. The gang members would carry out regular reconnaissance of sandalwood trees in house compounds in Santiniketan and pick on their prey. There is no database on the number of sandalwood trees in Santiniketan and its neighboring forest areas of Sonajhuri.

(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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