Rain, gusty winds continue to batter Kodagu, coast

Heavy rain continued unabated, damaging houses, roads and power infrastructure and triggering flash floods in  coastal districts and Malnad region.

And there is no respite from inclement weather as the IMD has forecast heavy showers for next two days and sounded red alert for three coastal districts and as many Malnad districts.

Two people died in rain-related incidents in Dakshina Kannada. Lily D’Souza (52), a native of Iruvailu near Moodbidri, was electrocuted when she stepped on to an electric wire snapped due to gusty winds, near her house on Wednesday morning.

Suryanarayan (49), a professional photographer from Kasargod, died after his car plunged into an overflowing stormwater drain at Kodikal in Mangaluru.

Three people travelling in a car escaped with minor injuries after a tree fell on the vehicle at Mulki.

Two houses were completely destroyed while several of them suffered a partial damage in the incessant rain that’s lashing Dakshina Kannada for the past few days. As many as 225 electricity poles were uprooted while 13 transformers and eight bridges suffered damages.

In Udupi and Karwar, intense erosion along the coast is posing a threat to people living close to it. At several places, boulders dumped to prevent sea erosion have been washed away due to strong currents. Udupi district, including Udupi town, continued to see heavy rainfall on Wednesday.

Kodagu is shivering under heavy downpour, coupled with strong winds. Several residential areas in Madikeri are forced to spend nights in darkness due to power outages.

The Kodagu administration has declared holiday for schools and colleges for next two days.With Cauvery river flowing in full steam, the forest department has barred visitors to Dubare elephant camp.

However, hundreds of tourists and locals, braving chill weather, visited the Abbey Falls near Madikeri to catch the glimpse of the cascading waterfall.

The water level in Harangi reservoir has reached 2,841.93 feet, just 15 feet short of reaching its maximum level. Meanwhile, Hemavathi dam at Goruru in Hassan clocked 22,000 cusec inflow on Wednesday. It is only 18 feet short of reaching full reservoir level. Yagachi dam in Belur taluk is full to the brim. Excess water is being released downstream.

Vehicular movement to Kukke Subrahmanya was hit following a tree fall on Bisle ghat road in Sakleshpur taluk.

Relentless showers have left the paddy growers in Shivamogga worried. Ready to harvest paddy cultivated on vast tracts lying on farms due to inclement weather even as the grains are sprouting.

Agumbe in Thirthahalli taluk has recorded 150 mm of rain in the last 24 hours while Maani in Hosanagar taluk registered 130 mm.

Up north, Manjra and Bhima rivers are flowing above the danger mark in Bidar and Kalaburagi districts, courtesy heavy rain in Kalyana Karnataka districts and upstream in Maharashtra. Kamalnagar (Bidar), Shahpur (Yadgir) and Raichur city experienced heavy rain intermittently on Wednesday, posing hardships to the people living in low-lying areas.

In the last 24 hours (ending 8.30 am), Almatti dam in Bagalkot district received a massive 4.88 tmcft of water. The reservoir has been receiving heavy inflows due to unyielding showers in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra. The dam, as on May 28,has 40.787 tmcft of water.

Many parts of north and south interior Karnataka received light to moderate spells of rain on Wednesday. The weather department has predicted more widespread rain for the state in the next few days.