Rains Batter Karnataka, IMD Sounds Orange Alert

Torrential rains battered Karnataka’s coastal, Malnad, and northern interior districts on Friday, disrupting normal life, flooding homes, and devastating crops. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an orange alert, forecasting very heavy rainfall of 11–20 cm in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Chikkamagaluru, and parts of Kodagu, Belagavi, and Raichur districts through August 29. The alert, signaling potential power outages, traffic snarls, and tree damage, prompted school and college closures in affected areas.

In Kalaburagi, overnight showers destroyed over 100 quintals of niger oilseed in Halkatta village, Chittapur taluk, leaving farmers in distress as rainwater swept away stocks stored on the village outskirts. In Raichur’s Bhupur village, Lingasugur taluk, two days of relentless rain caused drain water to flood homes, submerging food grains, utensils, and clothes up to knee level. Villagers blamed the Panchayat Development Officer for neglecting drain maintenance, demanding accountability. Kodagu saw renewed downpours, leading to holidays for schools and Anganwadis as a precaution.

The IMD reported significant rainfall between 8:30 am August 28 and 5:30 am August 29: Mangaluru Airport recorded 136.9 mm, Agumbe 108.5 mm, Tidagundi (Vijayapura) 96.5 mm, Bengaluru city 16.1 mm, and Kalaburagi 14.6 mm. Earlier data from August 28 showed Shaktinagar at 56.2 mm and Honnavar at 8 mm. The Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) warned of continued showers with gusty winds of 30–40 kmph, potentially causing localized flooding. Fishermen were advised against venturing into the Arabian Sea, and residents were urged to avoid low-lying areas and waterbodies.

Also Read: Incessant Rains Batter Karnataka; Flood Threat Looms as Reservoirs Near Capacity

The Tungabhadra reservoir, receiving 36,000 cusecs of inflow from Tunga (32,000 cusecs), Bhadra (11,000 cusecs), Varada (9,700 cusecs), and catchment rainfall (53,000 cusecs), will release 40,000–70,000 cusecs starting noon Friday, prompting alerts for downstream communities in Koppal and Raichur. Authorities have deployed taluk-level officers to address complaints, with tahsildars on standby. The rains, linked to a low-pressure system over the Bay of Bengal, follow a pattern of extreme weather, with coastal Karnataka recording 456 mm against a normal 119 mm from March to May 2025, a 284% excess.

This follows earlier devastation, including three deaths in July 2023 and two in June 2025 in rain-related incidents across Karnataka’s coastal and northern regions. With the southwest monsoon intensified by cyclonic circulations, the state braces for more showers through August 30, testing infrastructure and resilience.

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