Heavy rains batter coastal Karnataka districts; IMD sounds red alert

Heavy rain, coupled with gusty winds, continued to pour misery on coastal districts, Malnad and south and north interior Karnataka on Wednesday with Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada bearing the maximum brunt.

Unrelenting showers and gusty winds have wreaked havoc on Uttara Kannada. Vehicular movement at several places in the coastal district was hit badly due to landslides and tree falls.  A landslide on a state highway linking NH-66 and NH-766E has prompted the authorities to close the stretch for traffic in Kumta taluk.

Massive boulders have rolled onto the Sirsi-Kumta highway near Devimane Ghatta. The said highway, still under construction at several places, has been closed for traffic till June 30.

Gangavali is overflowing on Panasaguli bridge near Yellapur. Gullapur village has been cut-off after a mud bridge was swept away due to flash floods.

Over a dozen houses were damaged and acres of crops, including paddy, have perished due to unyielding rain in the last two days.

Belake village in Bhatkal taluk has received a massive 224 mm of rain in the last 24 hours (ending 8.30 am on Wednesday) while Salkode in Honnavar taluk experienced 220 mm rain.

With the district likely to experience heavy rain and strong winds for next five days, the IMD has declared a red alert.

The situation is no different in Dakshina Kannada, where 25 SDRF teams are kept on standby to face any eventualities. In the last 24 hours, the district has received an average rainfall of 62 mm. With rivers swelling, most of the reservoirs in the district, including AMR, Tumbe, Biliyuru, Harekal Adyar, are clocking good inflows.

The traffic on Nethravathi-Ajekuri road in Dharmasthala GP limits was affected after a massive tree came crashing on the road. The IMD has sounded a red alert for the district on Thursday and an orange alert for the subsequent five days.

Udupi district also is experiencing heavy rains intermittently. Relentless rains in several Kalyana Karnataka districts have filled water bodies. Narihalla reservoir in Sandur has reached its maximum level before the onset of monsoon.

Several heads of livestock have perished due to lightning in Vijayanagara and Ballari districts. Bidar, Kalaburagi and Koppal districts continued to receive rain on Wednesday too. A temple gopura at Naikal village in Yadgir district was damaged in a lightning strike.

Hubballi-Dharwad and parts of Gadag, Belagavi, Haveri and Bagalkot districts have also experienced good rains.

Several parts of south interior Karnataka registered intermittent rain on Wednesday.