Monsoon: Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Telangana at risk of flood

Heavy rain is causing chaos in Maharashtra, Telangana, and Karnataka. According to IMD, active monsoon conditions are likely to continue for the next five days over central India and the West coast.

Authorities said 130 villages in Maharashtra are affected. In the Gadchiroli district, 128 of them have lost communication. Water logging has created a flood-like situation in the Gadchiroli district. Videos by ANI showed people walking on roads that looked like an overflowing river.

Hingoli and Nanded districts in the Marathwada region have also been affected by heavy rain. Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde spoke to the collector of Hingoli on Saturday and issued instructions on the evacuation of people.

The Asana river has caused flooding and at least 200 people have been evacuated till now. IMD has predicted moderate to heavy rainfall in Mumbai as well.

Some areas in Telangana, coastal Andhra Pradesh, and Gujarat are also isolated due to rain. Heavy to very heavy rainfall occurred over Uttarakhand, east Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Goa, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, and Karnataka as well.

Telangana and Karnataka have issued a red alert. Jayashankar Bhupalpally, Nizamabad, and Rajanna Sircilla districts in Telangana recorded extremely heavy rain. Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao has urged people to stay at home. Several other districts have issued orange alerts.

Coastal and North Karnataka districts are receiving heavy rain. As northern districts are at risk of flood, a yellow alert has been issued in Kalaburagi district, a place known for high temperature. Belagavi and Bidar districts have also issued yellow alerts.

Rainfall in the Western Ghats raised the water levels by 3 feet in the river Kali in Uttara Karnataka district. Water has already reached the outskirts of Dandeli town. People living on the banks of the Cauvery river have also been warned as the inflow into the KRS dam has increased drastically.

The threat of landslides is also high in several locations in the Uttara Kannada district. The Sharavathi, Kaali, Aghanashini, and Gangavali Rivers in the district are overflowing dangerously.

IMD said the cause of heavy rains is a cyclonic circulation over the Bay of Bengal. An official statement said, "the monsoon trough now passes through Jaisalmer, Kota, Jabalpur, Pendra Road, and Kalingapatnam. The cyclonic circulation is over northwest and adjoining the west-central Bay of Bengal and then eastwards to East-central Bay of Bengal and extends up to 1.5 km above mean sea level".