JOIN US4 die as rain batters north, south interior Karnataka
Three shepherds, including a father-son duo, were killed in a lightning strike as thunderstorms continued to batter many parts of north and south interior Karnataka.
Mallesh Sonnad (33), his son Mylari Sonnad (10) and Hanumanthappa Uppar (38) were struck dead by lightning at a forest area near Varalahalli in Hagaribommanahalli taluk of Vijayanagar district.
Budansab Agasimundin (65) was swept away in an overflowing stream at Hiremannapur of Kushtagi taluk in Koppal district on Saturday night.
Haveri district, including the city, experienced heavy showers coupled with lightning, for well over one hour on Sunday night. The downpour choked the drains leaving many residential areas and Hangal and PB roads flooded. Traffic on old PB road was hit badly as stormwater drain overflowed.
Hubballi-Dharwad, Gadag, Koppal, Raichur and parts of undivided Ballari also received intermittent rain on Sunday.
Meanwhile, water bodies in the parched Chikkaballapur district, including the city, have come alive following heavy rain on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday.
Incessant showers have also caused hardships to the residents of several areas, including the Divine City layout, with rainwater gushing into homes and flooding the roads. Rainwater flowed like a stream on the road between Divine City and Kanajenahalli, till Sunday evening, after Rangadhama lake breached.
The government women’s college in Chikkaballapur was turned into an island. Kandavar, Ramappana Kere and Amani Bhairasagara lakes have breached. The Uttara Pinakini river in Gauribidanur taluk is in spate.
Vast tracts of farmland in the district have been submerged. Ready-to-harvest ragi, jowar and groundnut crops have gone under water.
In the last 24 hours (ending 8 am on Sunday), the district has received an average rainfall of 129 mm. Srinivasasagar has recorded 98.2 mm of rain while Chikkaballapur town has received 58 mm.
The district has received the highest rainfall, for the month of October, in the last three decades. Crop loss on over 1,800 hectares have been reported in the last one week.
Parts of Tumakuru, Chitradurga, Davangere and Hassan districts are also experiencing heavy showers since Saturday. Water level in the historic Dwarasamudra lake near Halebid has gone up by one foot. More than 25 houses have been damaged in the incessant rain in Arasikere taluk.
Yellow alert in south districts
There’s no respite from rain for the south Karnataka districts. The India Meteorological Department has forecast heavy showers in eight south Karnataka districts for next two days. The IMD has sounded a yellow alert for Tumakuru, Shivamogga, Mysuru, Mandya, Hassan, Kodagu, Chikkamagaluru and Chamarajanagar for October 25 and 26.