The Met department sent emails to the CM's office, the chief secretary and all dept heads on September 27, but no one bothered to log in

The havoc caused by flash floods last weekend could have been minimised if only the government had checked an email that came from the meteorology department.

The emergency message, sent to all department heads, went unnoticed because of the holidays that week September 26, Saturday was Durgashtami and Ayudha Pooja, and Monday was Vijayadashami.

Many officials had taken leave, casual or earned, on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday and to get an entire week off, thanks to Gandhi Jayanti on Friday. "We sent a 48-hour forecast every day to the CM's office, chief secretary and all department heads by fax," said a met officer. "Since the forewarning on September 27 was important, we even sent an e-mail, but nobody took it seriously."

Search and save: Search operations being carried out in North Karnataka to locate and rescue trapped residents in those areas