The flood situation in western Maharashtra and Karnataka worsened on Wednesday, with the toll in rain-related incidents climbing to 16 in the five districts of Pune region. Heavy rains and flooding forced authorities to evacuate more than 1.5 lakh people from the districts of Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara, The Indian Express reported. In Karnataka, almost 26,000 people were evacuated and the toll in rain-related incidents rose to five in the past three days, according to PTI.

Meanwhile, a red alert for heavy rainfall was issued in Kerala for the districts of Idukki, Malappuram, Kozhikode, and orange alert for Thrissur, Palakkad, Wayanad, Kannur, Kasargod, ANI reported. In Goa, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant clarified that schools and colleges would be open on Thursday. He made the remarks following some rumours, according to ANI.

A red alert denotes “take action” due to the likelihood of very heavy to extremely heavy rain, while an orange alert stands for “be prepared” as heavy to very heavy rain is likely.

Maharashtra

Road connectivity in most parts in Pune division was hit on Wednesday, disrupting the movement of essential services. “Most dams in the division are filled to capacity and if rain in the catchment areas continues, as predicted by the IMD, the unavoidable discharge of water from dams may again lead to a flood-like situation,” said Pune Divisional Commissioner Deepak Mhaisekar.

Water levels have risen in Panchganga and Dudhganga rivers in Kolhapur, Krishna river in Sangli and Krishna and Koyna rivers in Satara. The National Disaster Response Force, the Army, the Navy and the Coast Guard have joined rescue efforts.

The stretch of the Mumbai-Bengaluru highway between Sangli and Kolhapur, which connects Pune, Satara, Sangli and Kolhapur in Maharashtra with Nipani and Belgaum in Karnataka, was closed on Tuesday due to flooding. The road remained flooded between Pune and Kolhapur and between Belgaum and Kolhapur, cutting off Sangli, Kolhapur and Satara, according to The Indian Express.

While power connections in Pune district were somewhat restored on Wednesday, the situation in Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara remained unchanged. Most areas in the region faced a drinking water crisis. Officials said while water tankers were being deployed, adequate tests needed to be conducted before restoring supply.

Karnataka

Heavy downpour triggered by a deep depression that crossed Odisha coast battered several parts of the state on Wednesday, creating a flood-like situation and disrupting train services in a few parts, PTI reported.

Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, who was in New Delhi to finalise Cabinet formation, curtailed his visit after Bharatiya Janata Party chief and Union Home Minister Amit Shah told him to focus on flood relief and rehabilitation. “I was supposed to meet the President of India at 5 pm but Amit Shah directed me not to bother about the Cabinet expansion, and visit some flood-affected areas like Belagavi and four-five other districts,” he told reporters after reaching Bengaluru.

The chief minister said the officers were on alert and Minister of State for Railways Suresh Angadi, who represents Belagavi in the Lok Sabha, would visit the district while MLAs of the flood-hit areas were camping in their respective constituencies.