Life in this coastal district came to a halt, as the early monsoon hit Dakshina Kannada, with the rains pouring down. In its Weather Warning Bulletin for the week, the National Weather Forecasting Centre has predicted 'heavy to very heavy' rain from May 29 to June 2, in Kerala and Coastal-Karnataka region; with wind speeds from 40-50kmph and has advised fishermen not to venture into the sea.
Although late evening showers accompanied by heavy lightning and thunderstorm have been witnessed in the region in the last couple of days, the heavy rain continued in the intervening night of Monday-Tuesday till Tuesday afternoon. According to the recording by the District Collectors office, the downpour was measured at 48.9mm until Tuesday morning.
Being a regular working day, traffic blocks were reported from various parts of the city. "Several owners of the stranded vehicles were forced to exit in the middle of the traffic as the vehicle ran through deep waters," a local resident Joachim P said. The city traffic police used megaphones in certain areas to guide motorists to the easy exit, while also diverting the oncoming traffic.
The underpass near Padil (connecting the Mangalore-Bangalore highway) and the under-construction flyover site at Pumpwell (Connecting Udupi-Kerala) were also flooded. Trees and electric poles were uprooted in several areas, damaging parked vehicles. Several people posted pictures of their homes and areas being flooded by rain. A picture of an underground parking of a popular mall on Lalbagh road also made the rounds.
Since Friday, nearly two houses were reportedly destroyed due to rain in DK. On Sunday, during the ongoing cricket match between Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad, an off-duty police constable at IPL Fan Park in Nehru Maidan, Mangaluru was injured due to lightning. On Sunday night, Praveen D’Souza, a resident of Nelyadi village of Puttur, died after lightning struck him. On the same night, a two and a half year old died allegedly due to lightning strike at Derebail. The deceased identified as Muttu was the son of a daily wage labourer - Hanumantha K. The family in its statement told the police that Muttu was playing close to the wire when the incident took place. Kavoor police is investigating the matter. Meanwhile, a 62-year old woman, Mohini, of Udaya Nagar at KPT was rushed to the emergency ward after the compound wall of her house collapsed on her.
Owing to rain and thunderstorm, the city also faced power outages quite frequently over the past few days. Meanwhile, two fishermen are missing at sea and are feared dead after their boat was damaged by rough waves in the Arabian Sea. Uttara Kannada Fisheries Department Deputy Director Santosh Koppad has confirmed that four fishermen hailing from Tamil Nadu were rescued after their boats, Angel – 1 and Angel – 2, were damaged and the coast guards are still searching for the two missing fishermen.
Civic groups were seen taking to the social media advising motorists and commuters to avoid Jyothi, Ballalbagh, Kottarachowki, Padil, Thokkottu, Pumpwell, Mallikatte, as they were clogged with rainwater and to avoid traffic pile-up.
Local residents like Balakrishna M, rued the failure on the part of Mangalore City Corporation (MCC) to desilt storm water drains, as one of the main reasons for waterlogging in the city. "Despite warning by the IMD of torrential rain, MCC decided to simply sit over it. Now, the water is reaching the doorstep of the residents," he said.
Meanwhile, taking cognisance of the similar circumstances, the neighbouring Dakshina Kannada and Udupi district administrations have declared a two-day holiday (May 28 and 29) for schools in the district.
Note: Some portions of the article were changed and updated as new information surfaced.