The Malnad region continued to receive heavy to extremely heavy rains on Monday, July 24. The roads remained inundated in many parts of the region, while bridges were submerged, obstructing vehicular movement. There were incidents of walls collapsing, houses getting damaged, and trees falling due to the heavy rains. The inflow into reservoirs has been on the rise.
Schools in Shivamogga, five taluks of Hassan district, and those in the rain-hit areas of Chikkamagaluru remained closed on the day. The Meteorological Department has warned that heavy rains will continue until Tuesday in Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru and Hassan districts. An orange alert has been declared for Chikkamagaluru and Shivamogga districts, where isolated rainfall in the range of 115.6 mm to 2.4.4 mm is expected. A yellow alert has been sounded in Hassan, where heavy rainfall measuring 64.5 mm or more is expected.
Following a heavy downpour, the highway connecting Bengaluru-Mangaluru via Hassan has developed cracks near Bage in Sakaleshpur taluk and a few other places. People in the village alongside the Shiradi Ghat stretch of the highway are worried about landslips as the area has been receiving heavy rains. A compound wall of the jail at Sagar in Shivamogga district collapsed on Sunday evening. A house in Belur taluk was damaged. A tree fell on the highway connecting Bengaluru-Honnaara near Ananpura in Sagar taluk. The traffic movement had been hit for a couple of hours.
In the 24 hours before 8.30 a.m. on Monday, Shivamogga district received an average of 84.5 mm of rainfall, against the normal of 20.6 mm. The highest of 184.5 mm was recorded at Nyarsi in Sorab taluk. In Chikkamagaluru, the average rainfall was 50.7 mm, against the normal of 15.3 mm. The highest rainfall of 141.5 mm was recorded at Bankal in Mudigere taluk. In Hassan, the average rainfall recorded was 36.9 mm, against the normal of 7.3 mm. The highest rainfall of 119.5 mm, was recorded at Uchangi in Sakaleshpur taluk.
Uma Prashanth, Chikkamagaluru SP, has appealed to the tourists, planning their visit to Chikkamagaluru, to postpone their schedule in view of the rains. “Tourists are requested to postpone their travel plans to Chikkamagaluru until the rains recede,” she said.
