Madikeri: The Seismograph Centre, established at Navodaya Vidyalaya at Galibeedu in Kodagu, has yesterday recorded two mild earthquakes in flood-hit areas.

The mild quakes were recorded on Aug.27 and 28 at Galibeedu, Kaloor, Sampaje — all those places that have been severely affected by floods and landslides. The findings of the Seismograph have been recorded at National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) in Hyderabad.  

The recordings were conveyed to the Principal of Navodaya Vidyalaya by Dr. Raghavan, senior scientist of NGRI. P.M. Issac, Principal, Navodaya Vidyalaya has confirmed to Star of Mysore about this development and said that some movements of tectonic plates under the earth have been recorded. Meanwhile, 15 families have been evacuated from Karike village in Kodagu after a geologist’s alert.

Ananya Vasudev RM, an assistant lecturer of geology at the National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal had predicted that landslides may occur at Karike and alerted the authorities who evacuated over 15 families.

Ananya had received a video from a friend that showed loud and gurgling sound coming from beneath the ground. Seeing the video, he detected that the process of soil piping was occurring in the village where water gets beneath the surface, creating an underground tunnel. He immediately alerted the District Administration and recommended evacuation. Soil piping is internal soil erosion caused by water getting beneath the earth’s surface. It leads to increased erosion, making the land less resistant and resulting in a collapse.

Residents have seen springs bursting forth with strange sounds. However, experts from Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre and geologists visited the place and have told the villagers not to panic. They said due to incessant rain this year, the flow of water has changed direction.

ANOTHER BODY RETRIEVED

A   25-member team, comprising personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Garuda and Kodagu Police dog squad, yesterday retrieved the body of Gilbert Mendoza (59), who was buried in a landslide at Katakeri on Aug.16. Gilbert is survived by his wife Rita and sons Akshay and Ajay. Locals claimed Gilbert was attempting to rescue his cattle during the calamity when he was struck by the landslide. While his family survived, they have lost their house and property.