A disaster response personnel carrying a toddler in his arms and ziplining across a surging river, holding on to a steel rope, became the image of hope for the flood-ravaged district of Kodagu , also known as Coorg, in Karnataka where rescue operations continued amid rain for the fifth consecutive day on Sunday. The toddler was reunited with his mother near the Abbe Falls. She had been separated from the child since Friday due to flash floods.

Around 3,500 people marooned in various parts of Kodagu have been rescued so far even as airlifting was not possible in many places due to relentless rain and fog which reduced visibility for helicopters. No deaths were reported on Sunday. The toll in the monsoon mayhem in Kodagu and Malnad districts in the last 15 days is 12.

Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy conducted an aerial survey for the second day and surveyed Somawarpet, Suntikoppa, Mukkodlu, Madapur, Harangi, Siddapura, Kushalnagar and surrounding areas that have borne the brunt of heavy rain since August 14.

In Tamil Nadu, flood alert was sounded for 13 districts, including the Cauvery delta regions, apart from Madurai and Theni as the Periyar and Vaigai dams received copious inflows. Heavy discharges were being made from dams, including Mettur, following inflows from Karnataka. This led to several villages and crops getting inundated along the banks of Cauvery and its tributary Bhavani. Nearly 14,000 people have been shifted to relief camps in different districts so far in the state, officials said.

The Coimbatore district administration has closed schools in Valparai as the hill town remained cut off from Coimbatore for the fourth day with landslides leaving the ghat section blocked.

The third flood warning was issued to the people living along the banks of the Vaigai river in Madurai district as the water level in the Vagai dam touched the 69-feet mark. As 3333 cusecs is being discharged directly into the river bed, people have been asked to move to safer grounds. The dam is reaching its maximum level after nearly a decade.

