Over 40,000 people evacuated, flood situation in K’taka under control, say officials
As widespread rainfall continues over north, central and coastal Karnataka, district administrations have declared a holiday for schools and colleges in Uttara Kannada, Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Kodagu, Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru districts as a preventive measure.
According to officials, the flood situation in the state is under control but the situation remains tense with more rainfall predicted in the coming days.
In a message issued to Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada on Thursday at 7 am, the IMD has predicted moderate to heavy spells of rain in Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Belagavi, Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru, Kodagu, Hassan and Mysuru.
Weathermen said there will be light to moderate rainfall in Dharwad, Haveri, Gadag, Chamarajanagar, Chitradurga and Davangere districts.
According to Uttara Kannada Deputy Commissioner Harish Kumar, around 8,000 people have been evacuated to camps and an equal number of people have been shifted to their relatives’ homes located in high areas.
“We are releasing water from various dams. Apart from this belt, the rest of the district is under control and normal. There has been heavy rain over the past two days in the catchment area of Kadra river and we are monitoring the level of Kadra dam, which is the last dam around 30 km away from the Arabian sea. The people living in this 30 km stretch have been evacuated. Downstream of Kadra damn is under control. Because we have taken preventive measures there has been no loss of life,” Harish Kumar said.
A release from district authorities stated that the releases from reservoirs are well-coordinated and as per protocol to prevent inundation of downstream areas and the villages that likely to be affected due to heavy discharge have been identified and necessary precaution has been taken.
A joint rescue team comprising of Fire and Emergency, SDRF, NDRF and Army evacuated around 40,690 people on Wednesday. The Nodal officers are camping in vulnerable villages. The district administration is on high alert and is prepared to tackle any emergency arising out of heavy discharge from reservoirs.
The release added that minor landslips and tree falls have taken place and a few stretches of NH-66 (Panvel, Maharashtra to Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu), NH-275 (Bengaluru-Bantwal), SH-91 (Lonanur - Ramanathapura - Kushalanagar - Siddapura - Virajpet- Makutta) have been damaged.
Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa visited flood-affected areas of Belagavi and interacted with officials and residents of the area. The Chief Minister and the Chief Secretary have been constantly monitoring the situation, officials have said.
Control room numbers and helplines:
Belagavi control room: 0831-2407290
Dakshina Kannada control room: 0824-2442590
Vijayapura control room: 08352-221261
Udupi control room: 08202-574802
Bagalkot control room: 08354-236240
Uttara Kannada control room: 0838-2229857
Raichur district control room: 08272-221077
Kodagu control room: 08532-226383
Yadagiri control room: 08473-253771
Hassan control room: 08172-261111
Shivamogga control room: 08182-271101, 08182-267226
Chikkamagaluru control room: 08262-238950
State emergency operations center: 080-1070,080-22340676
WhatsApp: 9008405955
Fire and emergency services
Flood control room: 080-25573333
WhatsApp: 9513749080