Several north, central and coastal districts of Karnataka continued to see heavy rainfall and flooding on Friday. At least nine people have been killed as a result of the deluge and 50 cattle have perished in the flood waters, officials said.
About 1,24,291 people have been evacuated by joint teams comprising of Fire and Emergency, SDRF, NDRF and the army, and 272 relief camps have been set up across affected districts. Nodal officers are also camping in vulnerable villages. Relief and rescue operations were underway throughout the affected districts, and Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa visited the area on Thursday to take stock of the situation.
Some of the affected districts include Bagalkot, Vijayapura (Bijapur), Yadigir and Udupi. Here is an update on the flood affected districts:
Kodagu District: In Kodagu, villages along the Cauvery have witnessed major flooding. Electricity and phone connectivity is down. Two NDRF teams have been deployed, and rescue and evacuation is underway. Assistance from fire and emergency, police, army and home guards is also being provided.
Shivamogga District: At least on person has died in Shivamogga. An NDRF team has been deployed to the district, and rescue efforts are underway with the involvement of Civil Defense, fire and emergency and police officials.
Belagavi District: Belagavi is said to be the worst hit district in the state. Six people were killed in rain related incidents, and 40,180 people have been evacuated. Crop loss in Belagavi was reported in 1,36,529 hectares of land. The district is likely to receive continued moderate rainfall over the next four days and nine NDRF teams have been airlifted to the district. 1,410 km of roads and 211 bridges have been damaged. The Air Force has rescued as many as 25 people from the district, some from treetops.
Dakshina Kannada District: District Collector Sasikanth Senthil S told TNM that the situation was currently under control but rivers are in spate. “There is no major flooding. We are expecting flooding in the evening in parts of Bantwal and Uppinangadi. So far 80 people have been evacuated. We are taking mitigation measures as required. We are prepared for any eventuality. There are no casualties,” he said.
Uttara Kannada District: Two rain-related deaths have occurred in the district and one NDRF team has been deployed.
Malnad region (Shivamogga, Uttara Kannada, Chikkamagaluru, Hassan, Kodagu districts): Heavy rain has pounded the region since Monday as villages witnessed major flooding and there is overflowing in lakes, tributaries and rivers. The area is expected to receive heavy rain over the next two days.
Raichur District: An Indian Air Force chopper has been deployed to Raichur. Reports say that helicopters are being brought in to rescue families stranded on an island in the Krishna river.
Mysuru District: With heavy rainfall in the Cauvery basin, parts of Mysuru district has been flooded. “I am myself in HD Kote doing rounds along with the SP in HD Kote. There are two-three major developments. Lakshman Tirtha river which originates from Virajpet in Kodagu, that is seeing a historical flood. After 80 years, this is the greatest water flow.This is affecting one portion of Hunsur taluk. Since Waynad is flooded we are getting heavy inflows from Kabini as well and it is not abetting. There are two small reservoirs which collect water from the forest areas, they are also full which is unprecedented..” Mysuru DC Abhiram G Sankar told TNM.
200 plus people have been evacuated from low lying areas, It is a continuous process, There is one casualty where a mud house collapse on the fringes of Nagarhole. There are no dire emergency, we have teams of SDRF if required.