Bengaluru rains: City wakes up to flooding yet again after over 100 mm of overnight downpour

Bengaluru faces waterlogged roads after heavy rain, causing flooding, traffic jams, power cuts, and flood response efforts by BBMP.

Commuters in Bengaluru in the early hours on Monday (May 19, 2025) were welcomed by waterlogged roads in parts of the city after a moderate to heavy spell of rains lashed the city on Sunday (May 18) night. 

Layouts, particularly, Sri Sai Layout in Horamavu and Rainbow Drive Layout (RBD), continued to reel under flooding. Residents have been grappling to clear the water out of homes at Sai Layout, and at RBD, a few roads are inundated.

According to IMD data recorded at 8:30 am on May 19, Bengaluru city received 105.5 mm of rainfall in the past 24 hours. HAL Airport recorded 78.3 mm, while Kempegowda International Airport matched the city’s total with 105.5 mm. In comparison, May 2022 saw 114.6 mm of rainfall, while the all-time record for May stands at 153.9 mm, set on May 6, 1909.

As per data from the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC), several locations in Bengaluru recorded over 100 mm of rainfall between 8:30 a.m. on May 18 and 7 p.m. on May 19. These include Kengeri (132 mm), KSNDMC GEO Campus (125.8 mm), Somashettihalli (119.5 mm), Madanayakanahalli (116.5 mm), and Yelahanka Chowdeshwari (103.5 mm).

At Koramangala, Indiranagar, Silk Board junctions, Electronics City Flyover and in other areas, traffic piled up in the wee hours as water stagnation slowed down the movement of vehicles. Kiran Kumar, a motorist, said that most of the roads between Kanakapura to Sarjapura he passed through on Monday morning were flooded and traffic snarls delayed his journey for nearly one hour. Mr. Kumar said, “Even before the arrival of monsoon, this is the situation the city is witnessing. What would be the plight during the rainy season?” 

Many parts of the city also witnessed power cuts as poles were uprooted and transmission cables broke. Several residents spent hours in the dark until power supply resumed. 

A senior BBMP official said teams have been dispatched for flood response and they are pumping out water in many places. In Sai Layout, BBMP Chief Commissioner M. Maheshwar Rao on May 18 issued a slew of directions to ease the problem and find a permanent fix.