Large parts of Kodagu district continued to reel under the impact of floods though there were signs of the rains abating on Sunday.
The number of villages battered by floods has gone up, with the district administration identifying 79 across Kodagu that have been affected by the rain, which was nearly 468% in excess for the week of August 5 to 11. For the 24-hour period ending 8.30 a.m. on Sunday, the district received 60.68 mm of rain, with intermittent drizzle throughout the day.
In all, 6,003 persons from 1,970 families have been evacuated to safety and are lodged in 42 relief centres in the district. Transportation and movement of vehicles has been badly hit across Kodagu because of landslides and overflowing water. As many as 26 important roads linking Madikeri with the hinterland and other roads connecting towns with rural areas have been closed for traffic, according to Deputy Commissioner Annies Kanmani Joy. The natural calamity has claimed nine lives and damaged 139 houses partially and 33 houses completely.
The seasonal rainfall deficiency for the district, which was around 47%, has now been completely bridged in a span of five days, but this has only added to the woes of residents.
Forces united
The search operations to trace eight missing persons in Heggala village of Virajpet taluk continued on Sunday and the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force, and Fire and Emergency Services personnel fanned out in the area to trace them. Some persons stranded near Koppa Gate close to Kushalnagar were rescued and moved to safety.
As many as 741 people have been rescued from across the district ever since the natural calamity unfolded last week. While 501 persons were rescued by various agencies as on Saturday, another 240 persons were secured from remote locations and shifted to relief camps by the NDRF, SDRF, local police and Army personnel. Authorities said they would scourge all the vulnerable areas to ensure no one is left behind.
There is a complete ban on movement of vehicles on the Kannur-Virajpet-Makuta State Highway 91 and Galibeedu-Pati-Kaluru road, according to the district administration. Other major roads that are closed due to landslips include Madikeri-Kushalnagar road, Moornadu-Virajpet road, Napoklu-Parani road, Bhagamandala-Madikeri road, Bhagamandala-Talacauvery road, Kutta-Srimangala road, Virajpet-Betri road, Madikeri-Mukkodlu-Kallumutlu road etc.
