A flood alert has been sounded in Kodagu, Belgaum, Bagalkote and Bijapur districts of Karnataka as the water level in the swollen Cauvery and Krishna rivers continued to rise on Tuesday.

With the rise in the water level, the administration of Mysore district and adjoining areas including Srirangapatna has been put on alert, police said.

An alert was sounded in the districts of Bijapur and Bagalokote after water was released from reservoirs in Maharashtra. Villagers in low-lying areas like Jamkhandi taluk in Bagalkote were warned, they said.

In Belgaum, about 740 cases of partial house collapse and eight cases of total house collapse were reported and the total loss to government and public property was estimated at Rs 24 crore, Superintendent of Police Hemanth Nimbalkar told PTI.

Though the heavy rains that lashed the coffee-growing district of Kodagu for the past week had abated, several areas in and around Bhagmandala remained submerged.

While there were some reports of damage to estate houses, no loss of human life or public property was reported in the 24 hours ending at 8.30 am, Superintendent of Police Trilokchandra said.

The Bethri bridge connecting Virajpet to Madikeri, which was submerged by flood waters, is now open to traffic, he said.

There has been a significant drop in rainfall in Kodagu, with Talacauvery receiving 156 mm of rains, Bhagmandala 127 mm and Madikeri 62 mm in the 24 hours ending at 8.30 am.