Every family affected by the heavy rains that set off flooding and landslips in Mudigere taluk has its horror story to narrate. Memories of the roar of incessant rainfall, uprooted trees rolling down hillocks, and heaps of sand being washed away in water have refused to go away and many people are yet to come out of the shock of their near-death experience.

“It was like the entire hillock was moving fast towards our house,” recalled B.M. Harish of Haravinakere, near Balur. He and his wife, Netravathi, were at home in the afternoon of August 9 when a portion of land in the coffee estate behind their house slipped. “Our neighbour had parked his jeep on the road. The jeep fell about 200 metres down the road as it was pushed by water at high speed. All this happened in front of our eyes. My wife and I thought it would be the last day of our lives,” he said.

Now, his paddy field and coffee estate are covered in mud, sand and uprooted trees. Even eight days after the incident, the jeep has not been lifted. Residents of the village have shifted to their relatives’ homes.

Kallesh, another planter, said, “Even if it starts drizzling here, we get worried. Any moment the hillock can slip, causing another round of devastation.”

Alekhan Horatti, a village of 39 houses near Kottigehara, is among the worst-affected. Pavithra, an Accredited Social Health Activist, was on her way to the village with her son in an autorickshaw when it began raining. “Within a few minutes, the road was flooded. The autorickshaw stopped and suddenly I heard the roar of a landslip. My son and I jumped off the autorickshaw even as the driver also did so,” she said. The autorickshaw was washed away in the flood. Days later, all the people of Alekhan Horatti are in relief centres.

The coffee estates developed over the decades resemble barren lands with heaps of sand. Many locals have arrived at the conclusion that no amount of relief can compensate for their losses. “People outside won’t believe if I say a portion of my land has been washed away. Only if they come here and see will they understand,” said Rohith, of Hallikere.