The state has received 204 percent excess rainfall this month (August) leading to 13 percent more rain during the South-West Monsoon from June so far. It is the first time in history that such huge rainfall has been recorded in just a week’s time. With heavy rains in the Cauvery basin, reservoirs have received 80 TMC of water in August alone. The water level at KRS dam which had dropped to 83.10 feet as against its capacity of 124.80 feet last Sunday, touched 121.25 feet this Sunday due to heavy rains in just a week's time. In wake of the flood situation in Kodagu, Mysuru and the Krishna river basin, Deccan Chronicle spoke to Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) director, Dr G.S. Srinivas Reddy. Here are excerpts from an interview.
Who predicts weather data? How?
There are many agencies which predict weather data. Along with data predicted by the Indian Meteorological department which gives the data of the districts, KSNDMC considers data from other agencies including the Space application centre which gives ground observations upto the gram panchayat level.
How would the state administration understand the scientific language of the met department just like a common man cannot understand a CT scan report?
The KSNDMC is an autonomous body and our job is to monitor and provide scientific data on weather to the government, and different agencies like water resources, agriculture, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj and Public Works departments.
Despite scientific data on weather being provided to the government, were the precautionary measures taken not adequate? Did the rain alone or excess water from Maharashtra cause floods in the Krishna basin? Was there a communication gap between Maharashtra and Karnataka?
Any disaster of this nature cannot be predicted. It is for the first time in history that such huge rainfall has been recorded in just a week's time. It has compensated for the deficit in the entire season. Actually, the situation has been managed excellently by the government and the loss of life has been minimal. At certain places like Belagavi and Dharwad which rarely see good rainfall, some people were adamant on not moving to safer places despite the alert and did not cooperate with the evacuation teams. The flood situation in the Krishna basin was due to release of excess water from Maharashtra, there was no communication gap at all.
What caused floods and landslides in Kodagu district ? Compared to last year's disaster, has the situation in Kodagu been managed better?
The situation in Kodagu district was managed systematically this year. Due to last year's disaster, the ground in some areas has still not stabilised. Also the topography of Kodagu is such that, it is prone to landslides. Kodagu recorded 964.99 mm of rainfall this month alone which contributed to huge inflow into the Cauvery basin, so the floods.
What was the reason for the flood situation in Mysuru district?
Besides excess outflow from Lakshmantheertha and Kabini, Mysuru recorded good rains last week. In fact, it was supposed to be listed as a drought-hit district considering the rainfall it received till July end.
What caused such high intensity rains in the state last week?
The weather system is dynamic. Apart from local weather systems, the depression in the Bay of Bengal pulled clouds from the Arabian sea which were full of moisture.
Has cloud-seeding contributed to the heavy rains?
Cloud-seeding has not been done in the places where heavy rains occurred in the past one week. Eight districts, including Bengaluru, Chikkaballapura, and Kolar, have deficit rainfall and we plan to do cloud seeding in these districts.
Is there a prediction for such heavy rains again?
There will be normal rainfall during the South-West Monsoon but there is no prediction for such heavy rainfall which happened in the past one week.
In light of this year's experience, how will the state disaster management system be strengthened to handle situations better in future?
Yes, indeed there is scope for strengthening the disaster management system. But what has been done is the best with the available resources.
