Cyclone Tauktae: 8 dead in Karnataka, 121 villages affected

Eight people have lost their lives so far in the Cyclone Tauktae-hit coastal and surrounding malnad districts of Karnataka, officials said on Monday.

According to a situation report by Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority officials, till this evening, 121 villages in seven districts of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Kodagu, Chikkamagaluru, Hassan and Belagavi have been affected by the cyclone.

Among the 121 villages affected, a maximum of 48 are from Uttara Kannada district.

Among the eight deaths reported, two each are from Dakshina Kannada and Belagavi, and one each from Uttara Kannada, Udupi, Chikkamagaluru and Shivamogga, officials said.

While two deaths have been reported in Dakshina Kannada because of drowning in sea due to a tug being adrift, two died in Belagavi due to house collapse.

A fisherman who went to tie his boat died in Uttara Kannada died as he got hit by another boat, while one person died of electric mishap in Udupi.

One death each were reported in Chikkamagaluru and Shivamogga due to house collapse and lightning respectively.

Damage to 387 houses have been reported. Among them, 57 houses are fully damaged and 330 are partially damaged, the report said. One animal loss has been reported from Dakshina Kannada.

A total of 711 poles, 153 transformers, 9,203 metres of lines, 56.2 km of road, 57 nets and 116 boats have been damaged, it said, adding that agriculture and horticulture crop losses haave been estimated in about 30 hectares and in about 2.87 hectares, respectively.

The Met department has forecasted thunderstorms accompanied by lightning with light to moderate spells of rain and gusty winds speed reaching 30-40 kmph is likely to affect Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada, Kodagu, Belagavi, Dharwad, Chamarajanagara, Ramangara, Bengaluru Urban and Rural, Ballari, Chitradurga and Chikkaballapura districts.

Officials on Sunday had said as the cyclone system was moving further north, towards Maharashtra coast, the cyclone's impact was likely to come down from Monday over the state.

Around 1,000 trained personnel from fire force, police, coastal police, home guards, SDRF have been deployed in the three coastal and neighbouring districts for rescue and relief operations, and NDRF teams have also been roped in.

Meanwhile, officials said all 9 crew members stranded on tug 'Coromandel' have been rescued.

Indian Navy's ALH helicopter has rescued four seamen stranded onboard the Tug which had run aground close to the coast of New Mangalore, while 5 of them were rescued by boat, they said, adding that they are being provided medical treatment.

Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa has thanked the Indian Navy and Coast Guard for the rescue operation.