Kodagu and the Malnad region, which have been reeling under torrential rains, got a respite on Sunday as the downpour abated, even though normal life continued to be affected.
Many parts of Hassan, Chikkamagaluru, and Shivamogga remained cloudy and there was moderate rain during the day.
The search operation resumed for the remaining four of five persons who went missing after their house was flattened by a landslip at Brahmagiri Hills in Kodagu on Thursday, but it did not yield any results. The body of Anandatheertha, who was among those missing, was retrieved on Saturday. Three teams of National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force, apart from local Fire and Emergency Services personnel, are engaged in the search operations at Bhagamandala.
At Chikkamagaluru, a 70-year-old woman, who had gone missing two days ago, was found dead in a stream near Kottigehara. Rathnamma, of Taruve village, is suspected to have fallen into the stream by accident.
Kodagu district received 31.08 mm of rain in the 24-hour period ending 8.30 a.m. on Sunday. There was intermittent but light-to-moderate rain across Kodagu throughout Sunday and the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre has forecast similar weather conditions for Monday.
As many as 18 places in Madikeri taluk have been affected by floods, 14 in Virajpet taluk, eight in Somwarpet taluk, and 12 localities in Kushalnagar, according to the Kodagu district administration.
As on Saturday, 578 people who were stranded in their villages, marooned by overflowing rivulets, were rescued and shifted to nine relief camps established across the district.
The water level at Bhagamandala, which has received the brunt of rain fury this year and saw in excess of 400 mm of rain for two consecutive days last week, has receded. The approach road to the pilgrim centre and Talacauvery, which is the source of the river Cauvery, was also cleared for light traffic.
Meanwhile, Housing Minister V. Somanna, who is also in charge of the district, and Revenue Minister R. Ashok visited the site of the landslip at Brahmagiri Hills and promised to deploy additional personnel, if required, to expedite the search operation for missing persons. C.T. Ravi, Minister for Tourism and in-charge of Chikkamagaluru, held a meeting with officials on the relief work, while RDPR Minister K.S. Eshwarappa visited the rain-hit areas of Sagar taluk on Sunday.
