India – Deadly Floods in Karnataka After Days of Heavy Rain

Torrential rain over the past few days has caused more devastating floods in the state of Karnataka in southwest India.

Government officials said that 12 people have lost their lives in the recent floods. As many as 5,444 houses have been damaged, forcing thousands of people to move to relief camps.

Several districts have been affected, including Belagavi, Bagalkote, Chikkamagaluru, Kodagu, Haveri, Chitradurga, Gadag and Dharrwad.

Belagavi district has reportedly suffered some of the worst damage. Two teams from India’s National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are working in the district to carry out evacuations and rescues. Another NDRF team is operating in Gadag district.

According to Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre, Ankola in Uttara Kannada district recorded 191 mm of rain in 24 hours to 22 October. The previous day Karkala in Udupi district recorded 201mm. Haliya in Uttara Kannada district recorded 140.2mm of rain in 24 hours to 20 October.

Karnataka saw catastrophic flooding from early August worsening as the month went on.

According to figures from India’s Disaster Management Division, in a period from 01 June to 18 October, 2019, 247 people have died in weather related incidents in the state. During that period, a total of 14,7421 houses were damaged and 399,518 people displaced.

Krishna river flooding in Karnataka India August 2019. Photo: Government of Karnataka

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