Incessant rains have resulted in widespread floods in Northern Karnataka and Southern Maharashtra, with Belgaum, Bagalkot and Raichur in Karnataka and Kolhapur, Sangli and Raigarh in Maharashtra being the worst affected districts. Normal life in these areas has been thrown out of gear. On request of civil administration, Armed Forces swiftly reacted to the situation. Air force aircrafts like IL-76, An-32 and Avro were used for airlift of Army / Naval rescue teams / NDRF. Army columns including Engineer Task Forces alongwith boats and flood rescue equipment were deployed in affected areas. Naval rescue teams with boats and specialist divers were deployed inland for rescue operations alongwith Coast Guard.
Over 1000 personnel from Armed Forces alongwith boats and other specialised flood relief equipment have been deployed in Karnataka alongwith two helicopters with winching capability. About 400 personnel alongwith four helicopters have been deployed in Maharashtra for rescue operations.
In addition to the above, approx. 10 aircrafts are being used to airlift NDRF teams and Engineer Task Forces to the affected areas. The speed of operations has been hindered by inclement weather, which severely restricted air operations, especially helicopter flying. Headquarters Southern Command at Pune has been nominated as the Nodal agency for coordination of relief operations in concert with the respective State Governments.
Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff has established an overall Command & Control Centre at Delhi to receive demands and process allocations of resources from the three Services. Coordination with Central Government is being done 24 x 7.