By IANS
Bangalore : All major rivers in northern and central Karnataka are in spate and hundreds of families have been rendered homeless as heavy rains continued to batter several districts of the state Wednesday.
Authorities in several areas declared a holiday for schools and colleges as the roads were submerged and communication affected, reports reaching Bangalore said.
The world heritage site of Hampi in northern Bellary district has also been flooded but none of the structures has suffered any damage, local authorities told reporters.
Irrigation department officials in Bangalore said they were still collecting data on the extent of damage to property and crops and the exact number of people affected by the torrential rains lashing northern, central, coastal and southern parts of Karnataka for nearly a week now.
Officials said around 20 deaths, mostly due to wall collapse, have been reported in the last week, including four Tuesday from Raichur, Haveri, Dharwad and Shimoga districts.
The districts hit hard by the rain are Belgaum, Haveri, Raichur, Dharwad in the north, Udupi and Dakshina Kannada on the western coast, Shimoga, Chikmagalur, Hassan and Davangere in central Karnataka and Kodagu in the south.
Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy told reporters Wednesday that he and Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa would make an aerial survey of the affected areas Thursday to assess the damage.
After the assessment, central assistance will be sought for rehabilitation, he said.
All major reservoirs in the state are either full or reaching the danger level. People have been warned to move to safer places, officials said.