Five killed as monsoon rains lash coastal Karnataka

The South West Monsoon signalled its arrival in coastal Karnataka by claiming the lives of five persons and causing extensive damage to property in several towns of Mangalore and Udupi district since Sunday.

Out of the two persons killed in Mangalore City during the torrential downpour, forty years old Narayana died when a portion of the wall of his house collapsed on him. He succumbed to the injuries on the way to the hospital. Forty five year old Shivaram Devadiga met his end after he fell into a pit while walking home in the heavy rains in Mangalore on Sunday.

In neighbouring Udupi district, three girls, who went for a dip in the Shambavi river in Karkala, were washed away. The girls were aged 15, 14 and 13 years, police said.

A truck driver control of the vehicle in the heavy rains and crashed into a house near Thumbe in Bantwal taluk. Though the house was damaged, no loss of life was reported in the mishap.

The incessant rains also left a trail of destruction in many parts of Mangalore and Udupi. Several houses had collapsed, trees were uprooted and electricity wires were snapped. Meteorology department officials said Mangalore City had received 220 mm of rains in the last twenty four hours while parts of Udupi district had received upto 250 mm of rains.

A few flights from Mumbai and Bangalore could not land at the Bajpe airport in Mangalore due to adverse weather conditions.

Though coastal Karnataka and parts of South Interior Karnataka had their first taste of this year’s monsoon, the Meteorological Department officials in Bangalore have predicted less than normal rainfall this year. “Though the monsoon has hit the State a week in advance, Karnataka will receive less than normal rainfall this year”, an official from the Meteorological Department said