Rains: Red alert still in place for coastal Karnataka

Bengaluru, Sirsi, NT Bureau: With the rains not letting up, and with the monsoon still vigorous, the India Meteorological Department has extended the red alert for coastal Karnataka till July 18.

Since the intensity of rain has reduced in south interior Karnataka, the weather department has retracted the red alert for the region and has issued an orange one till July 20.

Even in coastal Karnataka, the downpour is expected to become less intense from July 19 onwards, with the weather department predicting that it would fall in the orange category for now.

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner of Uttara Kannada K Lakshmi Priya said that due to relentless rain, the district had opened 26 care centres by the evening of July 16, including six in Karwar taluk, six in Kumta taluk and 14 in Honnavar taluk, sheltering 2,368 people.

According to her, in the last 24 hours, three houses were completely damaged, one severely and 18 partially, and one human life was lost due to a house collapse in Karwar taluk. In case of emergencies, the DC said, the public can call the district administration's emergency helpline number 1077 as well as the WhatsApp number 94835 11015. Chikkamagaluru and Hassan districts are also heavily impacted by the rain.

In Sringeri, for instance, the parking areas and the roads leading to Sringeri temple are still inundated, making it impossible for devotees to visit the temple. In Sakleshpura taluk of Hassan district, in many villages, such as Mavinur and Kaginere, there is still no electricity due to the rain.

Also, mudslides are becoming more frequent in the region, the most affected being National Highway 75, between Sakleshpura and Maranahalli, said Shruti, Deputy Divisional Officer of Sakleshpura. Incidentally, the stretch between Sakleshpura and Maranahalli was just fixed last year after the 2018 landslides damaged them.