Floods in Karnataka: Situation remains grim in northern areas, over 35K people evacuated

According to the Central water commission, the Bhima river has been in spate since October 14 due to torrential rain in Maharashtra and release of water from the dams there.

Many villages are still submerged in Kalaburagi, Vijayapura, Yadgir and Raichur districts of North Karnataka and over 35,000 people have been evacuated, as the flood situation remains grim with the Bhima river continuing to flow above the danger mark, officials said on Monday.

Workers on contract with Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation (KPTCL), install new power cable lines on the outskirts of Bangalore on October 12, 2020. (AFP)

According to the Central water commission, the Bhima river has been in spate since October 14 due to torrential rain in Maharashtra and release of water from the dams there.

The river, which is a tributary of the Krishna, has wreaked havoc in Kalaburagi, Vijayapura,Yadgir and Raichur, which are experiencing intermittent heavy rain.

Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) officials said as many as 97 villages in the four districts are worst affected and people residing there have been shifted to safety.

“So far we have evacuated 36,290 people. We have opened 174 relief camps where 28,007 people are staying,” a KSNDMC official said.

The Army and the disaster response force personnel are engaged in evacuating people from the flood hit areas, according to sources.

According to the India Meteorological Department, the city recorded 39.6 mm rainfall at the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited based weather observatory in the 24 hour period ending 0830 am today.