Torrential rain wreaks havoc in Mangaluru; woman washed away

MANGALURU: Heavy rain that lashed the coast on Saturday morning left a trail of destruction in all the five taluks of Dakshina Kannada district.

A 50-year-old woman, Revathi, was killed in Belthangady taluk after she was washed away by the strong current in a river at Shirlal. She is survived by four children, two of whom are speech and hearing impaired.

The downpour, accompanied by gusty winds, caused tree falls in many areas, including one each in Hosabettu near Surathkal and near Nehru Maidan in the city. Power supply was disrupted in Pacchanady after a tree fell on a transformer. No injuries were reported. Revenue department officials said the actual extent of damages can be assessed only by Monday.

On Friday night, at least four people were injured and a vehicle damaged after a portion of a peepal tree at Mangaladevi Temple fell. Surekha, 63, Praveen Suvarna, 49, Naveen, 45, and Tejaswini, 20, are under treatment with no major injuries to them.

Minister’s flight delayed

Meanwhile, inclement weather led to the delay of a Hyderabad-Mangaluru flight that minister U T Khader was to board at the Bengaluru stopover. Khader made a maiden visit to his hometown after being awarded the plum post of housing and urban development in the H D Kumaraswamy-led government.

Meanwhile, the IMD stated that the southwest monsoon has further advanced into some parts of south Konkan area, adding that the conditions were favourable for the advancement of southwest monsoon into most parts of the Arabian Sea.

The IMD has forecast heavy to very heavy rain in coastal Karnataka on Sunday. Squally winds reaching 40-50kmph, gusting to 60kmph, are likely along and off the Kerala-Karnataka-Maharashtra coasts. Sea condition is likely to be rough to very rough over east central, west central and southwest Arabian Sea. Fishermen are advised not to venture into these areas.

Heavy rain is expected to continue in coastal Karnataka on Monday. This is expected to intensify on Tuesday and very heavy rainfall is anticipated in isolated areas of the coastal stretch, according to the weatherman.

The district recorded 72mm of rainfall in the 24 hours from 8.30am of Friday. Belthangady taluk received the highest rainfall of 82mm, with Puttur receiving the least at 61mm.