Bengaluru: Recent heavy rainfall has severely impacted southern India, particularly affecting daily life in regions such as Bengaluru, Karnataka, due to extensive waterlogging. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued rain alerts for Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. In Bengaluru, the torrential rains have led to significant disruptions, with residents wading through knee-deep water and encountering traffic congestion on major roads like Silk Road Junction, Hosur Road, and BTM Layout.
Rain Alerts
Karnataka’s Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar reported that 210 flood-prone areas have been identified in the city, with most remedial work completed and ongoing efforts in the remaining locations. The Congress-led state government has constructed 197 kilometers of stormwater drains, investing ₹2,000 crore in the project.
Tragically, the rain-related death toll in Karnataka has reached five, with three fatalities occurring in Bengaluru over the past 36 hours. Two individuals lost their lives due to electrocution at Madhuvan Apartment in NS Palya, including 63-year-old Manmoham Kamath, who was fatally electrocuted while attempting to use a motorized pump to remove water from his home. A 12-year-old boy, Dinesh, who was nearby, also suffered the same fate.
Despite the swift actions of apartment residents who rescued both individuals from the water and transported them to a nearby hospital, medical personnel pronounced them dead upon arrival. Earlier on Monday, a 35-year-old housekeeping employee named Shashikala, working for a software company in the Mahadevapura area, tragically lost her life when a wall collapsed on the premises. Additionally, officials reported that two individuals succumbed to lightning strikes in the Raichur and Karwar regions.
Rainfall alerts
Rainfall alerts indicate that the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) recorded 30 mm of rain in the past 24 hours, with a total of 105 mm noted during the night between Sunday and Monday morning. The city has been placed under an orange alert for Tuesday, while other districts in Karnataka are under a yellow alert. An orange alert signifies the expectation of very heavy rainfall ranging from 11 cm to 20 cm, whereas a yellow alert indicates heavy rainfall between 6 cm and 11 cm. N Puviarasu, the chief of IMD’s Bengaluru Centre, stated that while the current rainfall may not significantly benefit rural areas, it could greatly affect urbanized regions like Bengaluru.
Consequently, an orange alert has been issued to assist authorities in their preparations. The districts anticipated to be impacted on Tuesday include Bagalkot, Bangalore Urban, Bangalore Rural, Belgaum, Chikkaballapura, Dharwad, Gadag, Kolar, Koppal, and Vijayanagara. Meanwhile, Uttar Kannada, Dakshina Kannada, Bengaluru Rural, and Bengaluru Urban districts are under a yellow alert.
weather warnings
In light of the weather warnings, the IMD has recommended that individuals remain indoors and refrain from unnecessary travel. Furthermore, the IMD has indicated that an upper air cyclonic circulation is expected to develop over the east-central Arabian Sea off the Karnataka coast around May 21, which may lead to the formation of a low-pressure area in the same region, moving northward and potentially intensifying.
southwest monsoon
The meteorological department has indicated that the southwest monsoon is expected to reach Kerala within the next four to five days. If this occurs, it will mark the earliest arrival on the Indian mainland since 2009, when precipitation commenced on May 23, earlier than the typical date of June 1. Furthermore, conditions are anticipated to become conducive for the further progression of the southwest monsoon across additional regions, including parts of the South Arabian Sea, the remaining areas of the Maldives and Comorin, certain sections of Lakshadweep, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and various regions in the South and Central Bay of Bengal, as well as the Northeast Bay of Bengal and parts of the northeastern states during this timeframe, according to the IMD.
