Heavy rains and flash floods wreaked havoc in Karnataka’s coastal, southern and central part disrupting normal life, an official said.
“As the southwest monsoon remained intense, heavy and widespread rains with gusty winds caused flash floods in Kodagu, Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Chikkamgaluru, Hassan and Shivamogga districts,” a state Disaster Management Authority official told IANS here.
The torrential rains also inundated villages, submerged houses in low-lying areas and caused landslides in the Western Ghat section, disrupting vehicular traffic and bringing down power lines.
With most reservoirs/dams across rivers Cauvery, Kabini, Hemavathy, Tunga, Bhadra, Harangi and Krishna filling up to the brim, the state Water Resources Department released excess water from them, leading to heavy outflows in the downstream, flooding several areas and submerging roads and bridges.
As the situation in the worst-hit Udupi remained grim, teams of State Disaster Response Force and the National Disaster Response Force were deployed to rescue the stranded people in the temple town and villages in the coastal district.
As the weather office has forecast heavy rainfall and gusty winds over the next two days, the district administration has warned fishermen from venturing into the Arabian Sea.