The flood situation across the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala still remain quite severe. Continuous rainfall across the western coast has wreaked havoc in these areas and has disrupted day to day activities.
This downpour has been triggered by a deep depression that had hit Odisha coast and has adversely affected the southern part of the country. Rescue operations have been initiated and almost 1.5 lakh people have been evacuated from the districts of Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara in Maharasthra and 26,000 people have been evacuated from Karnataka. Flood related accidents are at its peak and the number has risen to 15 deaths in the past three days.
In Pune, the torrential rains have disrupted the movement of essential services. Water level has risen in Panchganga and Dudhganga rivers in Kolhapur, as a result of which NDRF, the army and the navy have joined rescue efforts. The Mumbai Bangalore National Highway has also been shut due to excessive downpour.
According to reports, the Belagavi district in Karnataka is one of the worst affected areas, where 6 people have lost their lives and 40,180 people have been evacuated. In Northern Karnataka, a surge in the water level of rivers Krishna, Ghataprabha and Malaprabha have caused massive destruction and claimed the lives of almost 20 people.
In Karnataka, the KSRTC bus services have been cancelled in certain routes. Bus services from Mysuru to Madikeri and Mysuru to H D Kote Road have been suspended for passenger safety. There have also been reports of railway services being suspended due to heavy landslides in the region.
According to the Indian Meteorological Department, very heavy rainfalls are likely in Madhya Pradesh, Goa, and Chattisgarh. As per reports by ANI, red alert has been issued in Kerala for the districts of Idukki, Malappuram, Kozhikode and orange alert has been issued for Thrissur, Palakkad, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasargod.
Karnataka Chief Minister YS Yedurappa is supervising the rescue operations in Belagavi while Maharashtra chief Minister Devendra Phadnavis has conducted an aerial survey of Sangli and Kolhapur.