Heavy downpour lashed Mangaluru and its surrounding areas for the third day on Wednesday. Continuous rain since Sunday has inundated low-lying areas and has thrown life out of gear in the twin districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi. Residents in Mangaluru said that it was an “unforeseen rainfall” and that such a situation was not witnessed in the area in the past few decades. Meanwhile, the much awaited Southwest monsoon arrived in Kerala on Tuesday, reaching the mainland three days before the normal date. The weather office has forecast heavy showers in the next few days in Kerala

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The situation in Karnataka’s Mangaluru, hit by heavy rain on Tuesday, is almost back to normal, Deputy Commissioner Sasikant Senthil told NDTV, adding that their focus today would be on clearing debris. The relief and rescue teams will, however, be on standby and the schools and colleges will remain closed today as a precautionary measure.

Heavy rain lashed the coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi in Karnataka, disrupting traffic and severely affecting normal life. With the tide coming in, the water was not able to flow away in canals, which led to flooding. After 6 pm, when the tide went out, the water began to recede, the authorities said. Throughout the day, roads in many parts of Mangaluru and other adjoining cities remained flooded, traffic crawled and children trapped in schools were ferried on boats.

Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy assured help to those affected.

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is currently outside the country on a visit to southeast Asia, assured all possible assistance to the state government.

“Have spoken to officials and asked them to ensure all possible assistance in the affected areas”, PM Modi said in a tweet .

Home Minister Rajnath Singh also reviewed the situation in Mangaluru and other coastal areas in Karnataka.