K’taka to receive heavy rainfall till July 18: IMD

Bengaluru: A trough over the East Arabian Sea off the Karnataka coast is expected to trigger heavy to very heavy rainfall in many parts of the state until the weekend. A low-pressure area above Kutch and in the neighbouring areas and a circulation that lies 528 kilometres above sea level over Chhattisgarh and neighbouring areas are adding to the precipitation, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Friday.

“Under the influence of the three systems, north interior Karnataka, south interior Karnataka and coastal Karnataka will receive widespread rainfall until July 18,” CS Patil, scientist and director, IMD (Bengaluru), said in a statement.

The IMD has sounded an orange alert on July 17 in Uttara Kannada, Udupi, Dakshina Kannada, Chikkamagalur, Hassan and Kodagu districts. The districts are likely to experience heavy to very heavy rainfall with a few places receiving extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places, IMD said in its forecast.

Chitradurga, Davangere, Belagavi, Dharwad, Haveri, Gadag, Vijayapura, Bagalkot, Bidar and Kalaburagi districts are also likely to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall in the next few days. While an orange alert has been sounded between July 15 and July 17, a yellow alert has been sounded on July 18. Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre scientist Sunil Gavaskar said that monsoon conditions are active over the state and the rain spells are expected to continue till July 20 while cloudy conditions will prevail.

As heavy rainfall continued to wreak havoc across Karnataka, a 70-year-old man died after being washed away in floodwater in Kodagu district on Thursday. According to Kodagu district administration, the incident took place at Avandoor village in Madikeri taluk after the Harangi dam in the district reached its brim, following which over 6,000 cusecs of water was released into the river inundating the lower riparian areas and villages.

The victim, identified as Babi Chinappa, a resident of Avandoor village in Madikeri Taluk, was found dead on Thursday by rescue workers, with the district administration saying that the elderly man was washed away by an overflowing stream near his house on Wednesday. Teams from the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force and police conducted an overnight search operation to find his body on Thursday, an official said.

According to the Harangi dam engineering department, the dam will be filled to its capacity in the next two days if the rain in the catchment area continued.

In Madikeri, the district headquarters of Kodagu, work on a retaining wall to the district headquarters building has been affected due to the massive rainfall. Two houses have been damaged by the rainwater in Kodlipet, according to authorities.

In Hassan district, floodwater has washed away a hillock, Adanagudde, in Aanemahal. Many areca nut and coffee plantations in Sakleshpur taluk of the district have also been inundated due to heavy to very heavy rains that the district has been receiving for the last two days.

The stretch of National Highway-75 between Donigal and Marnahalli in Sakleshpur taluk has been flooded with debris from the floodwater over a distance of 6km. The highway was blocked on this stretch for some time on the night of July 15, officials said.

The Yagachi dam near Hassan is also filled up to its maximum level. As a result of the excess water being allowed to flow into the river, two houses in Arehalli Koplu have been severely damaged.

Shivamogga district also reported severe damage to property due to rain-related issues. Houses, public offices and roads in Soraba and Thirthahalli taluks have been affected due to the continuous downpour. State highways were flooded at Chandragutti and Hanagere, district administration said.

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