Recurring landslides, incessant rains and massive flooding has crippled Kodagu. So much so, that the district administration has now urged people to evacuate their homes and move to the nearby relief camps.
According to the Deputy Commissioner of Kodagu Srrividya P, residents of Madikeri’s Tyagaraj Colony, Chamundeshwari Nagar, Mulya Layout, Dairy Farm and Indiranagar are leaving en masse to three relief camps set up in the town.
Residents of Virajpet Town are also packing up their belongings and moving towards the nearby camps. However, over 2,000 people of Katakeri, Kandipala and Haleriyahalavu have been stranded after reccuring landslides in the region. The people have been waiting for help on Doddakunda Betta (hill) since Thursday morning.
District administration officials said that the high intensity of the wind and low visibility has hampered airlifting operations, leaving the stranded residents on the hilltop for over 24 hours.
Also, over 1,000 people have been stranded in Makkandur, Haleri and Yemmetala. These people have also been waiting to be rescued since Thursday afternoon.
Over 200 people who had taken refuge on top of a hill in Mukkodlu were seen waving at a helicopter on Friday. All stranded residents were airlifted and rescued.
“In the last 24 hours till 8:30am, Kodagu has received heavy to very heavy rainfall across the district. The average rainfall for the whole district is 94mm with some stations recording up to 200mm of rainfall. However, we are expecting rainfalls to recede gradually over the next 36-48 hours. Moderate intermittent showers are expected till August 20,” said Sunil M Gavaskar, Meteorologist at Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre.
On Wednesday night, most regions of Kodagu lost power and people have been unable to call for help as their cellphones ran out of charge.
Houses, farms, coffee plantations and roads across the district has been waterlogged. The incessant rains have caused the soil on the hilly slopes to loosen, which has resulted in multiple landslides causing loss of life and property. So far, three death have been reported in the region and one person was gravely injured.
Moderate rains began late on Tuesday evening and by Wednesday, the rainfall level had escalated. Massive flooding was witnessed in several low-lying areas on Wednesday night and by Thursday, life in the district came to a standstill.
In Madikeri’s Katageri, Yashwanat Venkataramana and Pawan died because of a landslide. They had fled from their homes but when they came back to see their house, they perished in a landslide. A landslide was reported from Hemme Taluk, while 20 people were rescued from another landslide.
Early on Thursday morning, the water from the River Koothuvalai flooded the villages. Water from this tributary of River Cauvery began gushing into Kattikeri and Tanthitala, flooding the homes, forcing people to evacuate.
All educational institutions have been shut down by the District Collector. Tourists have been urged not to visit the district.
As on August 16, 700 people were displaced and were taking shelter in 10 relief camps set up across the district.
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