Torrential rains spawn devastating floods in Karnataka, India

Heavy rains over the past days have caused deadly floods in the Indian state of Karnataka. 12 people were reportedly killed, at least 5 444 homes were damaged, and thousands of residents were displaced, as of October 23, 2019.

​Among the affected districts were Belagavi, Bagalkote, Chikkamagaluru, Kodagu and Haveri, Chitradurga, Gadag, and Dharwad.

The worst-hit area was Belagavi district, reports said. India's National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has deployed two teams to conduct evacuations and rescues. Another team has been placed in the Gadag district.

Karnataka State Natural Disaster Morning Center said Ankola in Uttara Kannada district saw around 191 mm (7.5 inches) of rain in 24 hours on October 22.

Karkala in Udupi district recorded 201 mm (7.9 inches) of rain the previous day, October 21.

Haliya in Uttara Kannada district saw 140 mm (5.5 inches) of rain in 24 hours on October 21.

Karnataka has been seeing devastating floods from since August, getting worse as the month went on. India's Disaster Management Division showed that from June 1 to October 18, 2019, at least 247 people have perished due to weather-related incidents.

During that period, a total of 147 421 residential properties were damaged while 399 518 people were evacuated from their homes.

Featured image credit: TNIE Karnataka