3 die in heavy rains in Karnataka, thousands evacuated

Bengaluru: Heavy rains in various parts of Karnataka over the past 24 hours have claimed three lives, led to landslides in eight places and evacuation of about 9,000 people, while the government has sounded a red alert in seven districts. Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, who reviewed the flood situation with top officials on Friday, directed all district in charge ministers and MLAs to oversee relief work in their areas.

He said the government would extend all necessary support to relief and rescue efforts and assist farmers who suffered losses due to the untimely rain and hailstorms. Dr Manoj Rajan, Commissioner, Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority said parts of Belagavi, Chikkamagaluru, Dharward, Haveri, Shivamogga and Uttara Kannada are facing the brunt of floods due to incessant rains over the past few days.

The rivers Krishna, Cauvery, Tungabhadra, Bhima, Kapila (Kabini) and many others in Malnad and coastal Karnataka are in spate, said the KSDMA officer. Details shared by him showed that 131 villages in 18 Taluks are badly hit, affecting 16,213 people. While three people lost their lives, two are missing. The rains damaged 21 houses completely and 804 houses partially. Sixty five bridges, 10 schools and a primary health centre were damaged, while 291.03 km of roads were washed away. So far, 8,733 people have been evacuated to safety.

The state has opened 80 relief camps where 4,964 people are staying. Landslides were reported in eight places, including Virajpet in Kodagu district and Arabail Ghat in Uttara Kannada district. A red alert has been sounded in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru, Hassan and Kodagu districts for the next 24 hours in view of a possible heavy to extremely heavy rainfall and an orange alert, in Belagavi and Dharwad, the officer said. The rains have also led to filling up of most of the reservoirs in Karnataka, including the Almatti, Bhadra, KRS, Kabini, Harangi, Hemavathi, Narayanapura, Malaprabha and Ghataprabha, he said.