For the state, it has been a mix of “too much” and “too little”. While the bounteous southwest monsoon triggered devastating floods and landslides in seven districts of coastal Karnataka, at least 15 districts in the state are staring at severe drought situation. The district of Kodagu and adjoining Malnadu and coastal districts have been witnessing flashes of intense wet spells from May to August. The rainfall recorded during August second week was the highest in the last 118 years. Due to floods and landslides, the entire fertile top soil has been washed away which is likely to adversely affect ecology and geomorphology. Agriculture and horticulture crops have been damaged and coffee estates have been reduced to a pile of mud due to massive landslides. The coffee production in 2018-19 is likely to fall by at least one-fifth as Kerala and Karnataka (especially Kodagu) account for 90 per cent of country’s coffee production. The loss of coffee crop is estimated at Rs 1,000 crore. On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy-led delegation that the Centre would send two teams to assess the damages in Kodagu and neighbouring coastal and Malnad districts . Meanwhile, as on September 6, though the state as a whole recorded normal rainfall (+2%), only Malnadu and coastal districts have received excess rainfall and districts in North Karnataka and a few districts in South Karnataka had deficit rainfall. District-wise rainfall pattern indicates that out of 30 districts, four districts are under excess, 10 under normal, and the rest of 16 districts are under deficit rainfall category. Out of 176 taluks, 23 taluks are under excess, 64 under normal and remaining 89 taluks are under deficit rainfall category. The preliminary assessment of the areas affected and the crop damage shows that more than 15 lakh hectares of agriculture and horticulture crops has been affected due to moisture stress. The estimated loss for these two crops is more than Rs 8,000 crores as of now. Apart from agriculture and horticulture sectors, drought will have impact on drinking water, fodder, rural employment and socio-economic sectors. The monitory losses of these are being estimated. A ground survey is being conducted by the department concerned to ascertain the severity of the drought and extent of crop damage. A memorandum will be submitted to the Centre seeking financial assistance under NDRF in due course. Source - https://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com