Belagavi, Uttara Kannada Flooded, Over 30K Evacuated

R. Ashoka, Karnataka's revenue minister said on Sunday that severe rains in the North Karnataka region have displaced thousands of people over the previous two weeks. At least 31,360 people had been evacuated from low-lying regions.

More than 22,417 individuals have been rehabilitated in 237 relief camps put up in this region, according to Ashoka, who is also vice-chairman of the Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA). According to statistics given by the KSDMA, extensive rains have affected more than 36,498 individuals in 283 villages across 45 taluks.

In the last 72 hours, at least nine individuals have died in rain-related incidents, and three more have gone missing in flood-affected areas of the state, according to him. According to KSDMA statistics, more than 3,502 electric poles have been uprooted, and 342 transformers have been damaged, causing power outages in many villages.

Due to excessive water discharge and severe rains in the north Karnataka area, agriculture crops on about 59,000 hectares and horticulture crops on around 2,000 hectares were drowned, according to the minister.

"As many as 134 houses have collapsed, 2,480 houses partially, while 213 schools have been partially damaged due to excess rain in the region," he explained.

He went on to say that villages in Shivamogga district were the most hit, with 2,864 electric poles uprooted and 274 transformers damaged, causing power outages in the majority of the area's villages.

He further stated that the state has seen 16 large landslides in districts in the Western Ghat range, as well as 73 minor landslides on highways in the north-Karnataka area, which have disrupted traffic.

"We would need at least a month to have these highways repaired. The KSDMA is well equipped as it has been constantly monitoring the situation using its 16 State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams and seven National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams in these districts," the minister explained.