Yellow alert: Heavy rainfall disrupts normal life in Bengaluru

Heavy spells of rains lashed parts of the city on Monday evening disrupting normal life, even as motorists waded through several inundated roads while returning home from work spaces. The city has been witnessing moderate to heavy spells of rain since Sunday evening.

Heavy spells of rains lashed parts of the city on Monday evening disrupting normal life, even as motorists waded through several inundated roads while returning home from work spaces. The city has been witnessing moderate to heavy spells of rain since Sunday evening. While the India Metrological Department (IMD) has issued a Yellow alert for the city for Tuesday, moderate to heavy rainfall is expected for the next couple of days.

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) received multiple complaints of tree/branch fall and water-logging on roads prompting the civic body to press into action. Till 9 p.m. on Monday, the control room received a grievance of tree fall in Hennur areas and waterlogging at a road in Vasanth Nagar and other areas. According to IMD observation data recorded till 8.30 p.m., Bengaluru city received 4 cm rainfall and HAL airport received 5 cm rainfall.

Scenes of motorists struggling to wade through busy waterlogged roads were a common sight. According to M.N. Anucheth, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), heavy waterlogging was reported from Devarabeesanahalli along Outer Ring Road, Salem underbridge at Mahadevapura, Roopena Agrahara along Hosur road, Nayandahalli along Mysuru Road, Haraluru Junction, Hosur Road, Railway underpass, Sheshadripuram, Dhananjaya Palace Road, Vijayanagar, Nagarjuna Junction, Bannerghatta Road, Anil Kumble Circle on MG Road, Kalyan Nagar bridge, Hesaraghatta Cross, Peenya along Tumkur Road and others. The traffic police were deployed to manage traffic that was moving slow on all these stretches. Motorists were stranded in some pockets due to heavy rains and left only after it subsided. 

Prasad, head, IMD, Bengaluru said that the city will receive heavy rainfall coupled with thunderstorms for the next three days and that a yellow alert has been declared for the city. “For the next three days, there will be heavy rainfall which will likely occur in the second half of the day. There will be spells of heavy rains at around 6 p.m. Also late evening rains are expected during the next three days,” Mr. Prasad said.

The IMD forecast for Tuesday states: “Generally cloudy sky, light to moderate rain and thundershowers, heavy at times very likely towards the evening and night”. Likewise for October 11 and 12 the forecast states: “Generally cloudy sky, light rain likely in some areas towards evening and night.”

Mr. Prasad said that some parts of the city are expected to receive around 7 to 8 cm of rainfall during this period. “Due to a trough running from Rayalaseema region to Kanyakumari across Tamil Nadu, many parts of south interior Karnataka including Bengaluru have been receiving heavy rainfall since Sunday and this is expected to continue till October 12. Thereafter the rainfall will subside,” Mr. Prasad said.