Rain inundates Mangalore

DHNS

• Strong winds likely in next 24 hours, heavy inflow into Linganamakki

Mangalore, 16 June 2010: Incessant rain which has been lashing Mangalore district since Monday evening continued on Tuesday. Several low-lying areas in the city were inundated. A house was damaged when a mobile phone tower situated on a hillock fell on it at Adyar-Kannur.

A house was damaged at Muliyar in Mangalore taluk. The loss was put at Rs 1 lakh. Two houses were partially damaged in Ulaibettu and Bajal. About 800 rooftiles of a  government primary school in Mahakalipadpu and 300 tiles of an anganwadi school were blown away in the gusty winds.

Heavy rain aggravated sea erosion in the Ullal area and damaged six houses at Kaiko and Hileriyanagara. Fifteen families living on the Ullal shore have shifted to their relatives’ houses in safer areas, officials said. In Sullia, a house was damaged when a tree fell on it, while another at Muthlaje in Guthigar was damaged by lightning.

Lekha of Kakyana near Panja, who suffered injuries when struck by lightning, is recuperating in hospital.  In the last 24 hours, Puttur received the highest rainfall of 103 mm followed by Mangalore 95.4 mm, Belthangady (88.8), Bantwal (85.6) and Sullia (56.6). Moodbidri hobli received highest rainfall of 115.4 mm. Strong on-shore westerlies, occasionally reaching 45-55 kmph are, likely to hit the coast in the next 24 hours.

Heavy to very heavy rain is likely to occur at isolated places of coastal Karnataka when rainfall will exceed 75 mm over the next 48 hours, a press release from metereological department said on Tuesday.

Udupi district received an average of 91.53 mm rainfall over the last 24 hours. Karkala taluk received 131.20 mm while Kundapur and Udupi taluks received 76.01 mm and 67.40 mm respectively. Water levels in rivers and streams are rising, inundating paddy fields in low-lying areas. Rain damaged two houses.

The Kodagu region received intermittent rainfall in the evening. With Kootuhole reservoir that supplies water to Madikeri town filled up, the city municipal council has decided to supply water to people daily. The water in Abbey falls has also increased and is drawing tourists.

The water level in the Triveni Sangama has remained static. The district has received an average of 34.44 mm rainfall, with Madikeri receiving 48.25 mm, Virajpet taluk 35.30 mm and Somwarpet taluk 19.78 mm. The Harangi catchment region has received 8.80 mm and inflow of water to the Harangi reservoir was 435 cusecs. The water level in the Linganamakki reservoir has risen by a foot in past 48 hours owing to incessant rain in the catchment areas.

The water level in the reservoir reached 1,751 ft by Tuesday evening with inflow of 6,981 cusecs. The level was about five feet higher than 1,745.90 ft recorded the same day last year. Sharavati project area received 72 mm rain on Tuesday. The maximum level is 1819 ft.

Rain continued to batter Tirthahalli and Hosanagar taluks on Tuesday, too, but receded in Shimoga, Shikaripur, Sorab and Bhadravati taluks. The maximum rainfall of 112.2 mm was recorded in Agumbe while Tirthahalli received 41.4 mm.