BENGALURU: Heavy rain over the past few weeks has resulted in an immensely happy situation for Karnataka since most of the 13 major reservoirs, including KRS and Kabini across Cauvery — Bengaluru is dependent on them for drinking water — are full.
Experts from the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre(KSNDMC) said the reservoirs generally fill to the brim by August-end. This year, they are full two months in advance. KSNDMC managing director GS Srinivas Reddy said that except for Supa (Uttara Kannada district) and
Ghataprabha (Belagavi district) dams, all others are just a few feet fromattaining their maximum water levels.
All major reservoirs in Karnataka are full following heavy rain in the past few weeks. “That the water level in so many dams is near the brim is a record of sorts in 15 years,” Reddy said. “It is a good sign for agriculture and drinking water needs of the state,” he added.
Reddy said Bengaluru will have no drinking water woes this year as all dams in the Cauvery river basin are near-full. “While Kabini is full, KRS as on July 7 was 16 ft away from the full reservoir level of 124ft,” he said. “With two other dams in the Cauvery catchment — Harangi and Hemavathi — also full, we expect the KRS dam to reach its full capacity soon. Last year, water level in
KRS dam hadn’t touched 100ft even in August.”
Officials at KSNDMC said with copious rain in Maharashtra, the inflow into Almatti dam has been impressive and it is just 24ft away from being filled.
“Only dams along Malaprabha and Ghataprabha rivers will take more time to fill,” said an official.
Thunderstorms in B’luru likely today
A day after heavy rain claimed three lives in the coastal districts, a pregnant woman was rescued from her flooded house in Katapady of Udupi district on Sunday. District authorities issued alerts as rain is expected to continue in coastal districts for the next two days. Officials said thunderstorms are likely to hit Bengaluru Urban district starting Monday.
Expect rain in city from today
While the coast, Malnad and parts of North Karnataka have been soaked in heavy rain, places in southinterior Karnataka, including Bengaluru region, have remained relatively dry. But not for long, according to the weatherman. Thunderstorms are likely to hit Bengaluru Urban district starting Monday and light to moderate spells of rain with winds reaching 32kmph or more have been forecast for the city.
The city was overcast for most part of Sunday and moderate showers were reported from several parts later in the day.
“Bengaluru receives heavy showers in August, September and October,” said a Met department official
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/most-karnataka-dams-full-2-months-early/articleshowprint/64913037.cms
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July is the one to watch for....
The complexities of the monsoon, which runs the State and the country’s economy, depend not only on how much it rains, but also when it rains. Much of the success in filling reservoirs in the Cauvery basin depends on the rains in July.
A failure here may lead to widespread distress even if the rainfall picks up later, shows the Karnataka Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre’s statistical analysis of the 44 years of data of inflows and rainfall at localised gauges.
KSNDMC looked into the possible scenarios of monsoon failures in various months and their impact on storage capacities of the Cauvery reservoirs.
Assuming normal rainfall in the upper catchment areas of Hassan, Chikkamagaluru and Kodagu districts in Karnataka and Wayanad district in Kerala, the average inflow during the monsoon to the river is 157 tmcft.
For July failure, they narrowed down nine years where rainfall in July has been deficient, but the overall monsoon season had been normal. In seven out of nine cases, inflows into reservoirs were ultimately lower despite strong rainfall in other months that made up for weak rainfall in July.
In 2017, for example, the State saw record rainfall in many places.
In July, rainfall was 43% deficient, while the overall monsoon season was just 7% deficient (considered ‘normal’ monsoon), particularly as the rains picked up after August. However, the inflow was lower by more than 37 tmcft.
Using statistical regression models, they estimated that for every 4mm reduction in rainfall in July in the upper catchment areas, nearly 1.1 tmcft of inflow reduces in the key reservoirs along the Cauvery.
While this understanding may be just in the preliminary stages, G.S. Srinivasa Reddy, Director, KSNDMC, says it adds to the integrated approach into understanding Karnataka’s inflows and potential release to Tamil Nadu. “This is an important consideration on forecasting and to understand, in a holistic manner, how the monsoon will play out. Currently, the Supreme Court verdict dictates Karnataka should release a quantum of water monthly to Tamil Nadu. However, rainfall in each month is important, as well as where it rains,” he said.
https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-karnataka/july-is-the-one-to-watch-for/article24368229.ece
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Karnataka: Monsoon blues...
Rainfall exceeding normal levels has caused mishaps in Coastal and Malnad regions, but in Raichur, there is a rain deficit so far
Several parts of the state, especially Udupi, Chikkamgaluru and Kodagu, have been affected by heavy rains. In Katpady in Udupi, a family was forced to carry a stretcher with dead body while wading through knee-deep water.
Sheshi Poojarthi (98), a resident of Kambalabetta, died on Saturday night and since the area has been flooded, her family members decided to carry the stretcher amidst water surrounding the house above knee level, by attaching tubes to it for about 500-600 mt, to cremate the body. Officials said they would have made arrangements if the family had informed them about the death.
Meanwhile, in the wake of continuous and heavy rains, two teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been predeployed in Mangaluru and Udupi districts to assist district administration in rescue and relief in case of emergency. NDRF has set up VHF, HF and VSAT communication in Kaup of Udupi . In Mangaluru, Sushanth (20) son of Nagesh from Ambedkar Nagar, Vamanjoor, is feared drowned in the Phalguni river in Kavoor PS limits. A search operation is in progress.
Pilgrims from Bengaluru had a lucky escape in Dharmasthala. A car was damaged after a tree fall on it near the KSRTC bus stand on Sunday morning. Resident from JP Nagar, Anil, and three others were travelling to Dharmasthala and the tree fell on the car around 5 am.
In Kodagu, vehicular movement on the Titmati bridge has been affected after a landslide. Since the land slide was reported on an old bridge, vehicle movement was diverted to the new bridge. It is now learnt that the authorities were forced to prohibit movement on the new bridge temporarily because of the land slide.
Landslide was also reported at about four places of Mullayanagiri in Chikkamagaluru. A few boulders have fallen on the road, making travel dangerous. Rivers across the State are reaching danger mark because of continuous rains.
In view of the rains, Dakshina Kannada DC S Sasikanth Senthil has declared holiday to all schools and PU Colleges in the district on Monday.
Only light rain in city
Bengalureans, need not be worried till July 12 as the city is likely to receive only light rainfall. Dr Srinivas Reddy, Director, Karnataka State Natural Disaster Management Centre told Bangalore Mirror that coastal and Malnad regions will continue to receive moderate to heavy rainfall till July 12 and interior parts will receive scattered and moderate rainfall.
Excess rainfall
The state has received 19 per cent excess rainfall till July 6 in the current monsoon. According to statistics obtained from Karnataka State Natural Disaster Management Centre (KSNDMC), the state has received 452 mm rainfall as against the normal rainfall of 379 mm by July 6.
The highs and lows
Hassan has received 91 per cent more rainfall than is the normal by the end of June. Chikkamagaluru and Chitradurga districts have received an excess rainfall of 75 per cent and 65 per cent. Raichur district has received the lowest rainfall in the state with 100 mm rainfall as against the normal of 148 mm.
https://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/news/state/karnataka-monsoon-blues/rain/articleshow/64909850.cms
