Karnataka Rains: Three Killed in Landslide, Red Alert Continues in 3 Districts

The landslide occurred due to incessant rainfall in the Mukkuda Panjikallu village of Dakshina Kannada.

Residents in Mangaluru struggle to free their partially submerged vehicles from the deluge, as the district continued to get heavy rainfall for the past 48 hours.

(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)

Coastal Karnataka received incessant rainfall on Wednesday, 6 July with several urban and rural areas inundated, causing damage to the infrastructure and people’s lives. Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has directed all the district commissioners to take up relief measures and ensure people’s safety.

Due to extreme rainfall in Bantwal taluk, a portion of land slid, killing three labourers in Mukkuda Panjikallu village of Dakshina Kannada.

Four persons were trapped inside the debris following the landslide last night. One of the four died on the spot. The NDRF were able to rescue the rest but two of them succumbed to injuries.

An initial investigation suggested that the landslide occurred due to incessant rainfall and wiped out a temporary shed constructed for workers at a rubber plantation.

"All three deceased are labourers from Kerala,” Dakshina Kannada SP Rishikesh Sonawane told The News Minute, adding that they have been identified as Biju (45) from Palakkad, Santhosh (46) from Alappuzha, and Babu (46) from Kottayam.

In Dakshina Kannada’s Moodabidiri, a compound wall of MTE engineering college collapsed during heavy rainfall, damaging three cars that were parked nearby.

Meanwhile, in Chikkamangaluru, the NDRF continued their search after 40 hours of trying to find a young school girl who was washed away due to floods.

NH 169A connecting Udupi district with neighbouring Shivamogga and Chikkamagaluru districts was also flooded, disrupting traffic movement. In Mangaluru city, several areas were inundated as residents struggled to save their vehicles from being submerged. The district commissioner of Dakshina Kannada also declared a holiday to all schools and colleges for a day.

Water Levels Rising in Rivers Due to Heavy Rainfall in Coastal Karnataka

In Shivamogga’s Gajanur, the Upper Tunga Project Dam was filled to the brim and 42,358 cusecs of extra water has been released from the dam. Locals in Ganajur fear this could be dangerous for low-lying areas.

In Shivamogga's Sagar town, two houses collapsed due to heavy rainfall at 1:30 am on 6 July, making two families homeless overnight.

Bantwal suffered an outage due to uprooted electric poles and trees. Inoli, Paver, and Harekala areas in Mangaluru were inundated and in Ullal, 15 houses, an anganwadi, and a school were flooded with rainwater.

Mangaluru City MLA UT Khader visited the spot and offered the affected family immediate assistance. Meanwhile, houses along the coast in Someshwara were damaged and sea erosion increased at Maravanthe and Battapady.

The Indian Meteorological Department has forecasted very heavy rainfall, over 200 mm, at isolated places in Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada, and Udupi. Water levels in Tunga, Kumaradhara, Netravathi, Gurupura, and Shambhavi rivers have also increased due to the heavy rainfall.

While all three coastal districts are on red alert, an orange alert has been issued in Belagavi, Chikkamangaluru, Kodak, and Shivamogga. North Karnataka districts of Dharwad, Haveri, and Kalaburagi are also likely to receive mild showers with winds of speed 40 kmph.

(With inputs from The News Minute.)