In Depth: Flood Hits North And Coastal Karnataka; IMD Predicts Heavy Rains For Next Few Days

At least 11 districts of Karnataka have been hit by floods while heavy rains show no signs of abating in parts of the state. The death toll has been pegged at 15 out of which seven are said to have perished in Belgavi district alone.

Regions Affected

The Northwestern and Coastal and central districts of the state have been hit by floods, with the former bearing the biggest brunt of nature’s fury.

Some of the districts affected by the floods are Dakshina Kannada, Belagavi, Kodagu, Dharwad, Haveri, Chikkamagaluru, Hassan, Uttara Kannada, Shivamogga, Bagalkote and Hangal.

As many as 237 villages and 32 taluks falling under these districts are battling the floods, which combined with incessant rains and swelling rivers are making matters worse for the affected regions. Maharashtra, which itself is battling intense rains and floods, continues to release water in the state.

The landmass affected by the floods may increase in the coming days as the Almatti reservoir is expected to receive its highest ever inflow of five lakh cusecs and the authorities are having to maintain a greater outflow.

“This would ensure that the dam has a cushion space as more water flows into the reservoir to reduce the extent of inundation”, Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Cell Director G S Srinivas Reddy was quoted as saying.

Like last year Kodagu has been hit by heavy rains and floods, resulting in landslides.

Death Toll And Damage

Media report have reported the death toll to be 15, with seven deaths in Belgavi, two each in Uttara Kannada and Shivamogga districts, and one in Dharwad and Hanagal district respectively. The toll is expected to rise further.

Around 1,048 km of roads have been damaged due to the floods and other affected state infrastructure includes, check dams, 140 bridges, 22 water supply projects, over 2,500 electric poles and six government buildings.

Rescue Efforts

Till now, over 28,000 people have been rescued from low lying villages by various agencies including SDRF, NDRF and the Indian Army apart from state emergency services. The army had also kept its choppers on standby for rescue efforts but they were unable to take-off yesterday (7 August) due to bad weather.

Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa also carried out an aerial survey of the affected districts in Northwest Karnataka and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh for the deceased.

Authorities have announced that schools and colleges would remain closed in the flood affected districts till 10 August.

Future Forecast

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted “heavy to very heavy rainfall” in the next 3 to 4 days for coastal and Malnad districts in the state.

It has also predicted moderate to heavy rainfall in the north-interior Karnataka for the next five days. Parts of Belgavi are especially expected to receive very heavy rains.