Karnataka Floods: How High Will The Krishna River Rise, And Whats Next For Evacuated Families?

The Karnataka Krishna River basin is experiencing a gravity-like flood situation after continuous rains over the last few days. The administration is carrying out mass evacuations by relocating people to safe areas and setting up relief camps as water levels rise in the Krishna, Ghataprabha, and Malaprabha rivers.

Almatti Dam Releases Water As Inflows Continue To Rise

Officials at the Almatti Dam are releasing 2.5 lakh cusecs of water at present, much higher than the normal inflow of 1.6 lakh cusecs. Officials have sounded a grim note: when dam releases increase to 5 lakh cusecs, villages like Masuti would be fully submerged.

Bagalkot District Commissioner Sangappa also confirmed the inauguration of a relief center in Mirji village, Mudhol taluk, for families that were displaced due to the increasing water levels. In Jamkhandi, Assistant Commissioner Shweta MB also reported that the outflow from the Krishna River at the Rajapur barrage had reached 1.4 lakh cusecs by Wednesday at 5 PM. Besides, the Narayanpur Dam is also likely to experience its inflows rise to 2.6 lakh cusecs in the subsequent hours, aggravating the flood danger. Up until now, 47 houses within the area have experienced partial damage, but thankfully, no fatalities have been reported.

Red Alert Issued, Schools Closed Amid Heavy Rainfall

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had earlier announced a “red alert” for very heavy rain across Karnataka on Tuesday, August 19, highlighting the severity of the rainfall.

As a precautionary step to maintain the safety of students and children, all the Anganwadi centers, schools, and colleges in Karnataka’s Dharwad district were closed on Wednesday, August 20. The district administration also directed education authorities to hold make-up classes on forthcoming holidays to recover the lost instructional days.

Rainfall reports during recent days depict the severity of the deluge:

North Interior Karnataka (including Dharwad): Got 7–11 cm rainfall on Tuesday.

Coastal Karnataka: Received a maximum of 22 cm in Castle Rock, 19 cm in Manki, and 15 cm in Jagalbet.

South Interior Karnataka: Recorded 16 cm each in Kottigehara and Agumbe, while Jayapura, Koppa, and Sringeri received 7–9 cm.

The IMD had also put out a 24-hour flash flood risk forecast for Coastal Karnataka’s Uttar Kannada district and a yellow alert, which forecasted lighter rain of less than 5 mm per hour in Dharwad until 10:00 AM on Wednesday.

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