Heavy rain in Bengaluru claims 2 lives, people miss flights due to flood on airport road

Two labourers were found dead at a pipeline work site in Ullala Upanagara after heavy rains overnight on May 17-18. The deceased have been identified as Devbharath from Bihar and Ankit Kumar from Uttar Pradesh.

IMD says Bengaluru received widespread rains with rainfall above 100 mm at a few places and above 50 mm at many places on May 17 night. 

Following heavy overnight rains, some schools declared a holiday for students on May 18.

Several underpasses and pedestrian subways were inundated, disrupting movement of vehicles and commuters. Movement of vehicles to the airport had been disrupted on May 17 night by flooding at a railway underpass on the road. Several people missed their flights as they were unable to reach Kempegowda International Airport on time.

There are reports of flooding in underpasses at Kodigehalli and Hebbal.

On May 18 morning, many areas in Bengaluru continued to be under water. Basava Nagar near HAL, areas near Lal Bagh and some pockets of Basaveshwara Nagar are among the areas that were inundated.

Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is deploying motors to pump water out of these areas.

At Pramoda Layout, near Nayandahalli, residents reported that cars were floating at the crossroads on May 17 night. They claimed that their compounds had at least 2 feet of water. They were planning to shift their vehicles to the main roads, which are at a higher level, in anticipation of more rain on May 18.

Apart from low-lying areas, even areas that had never seen inundation, like Basaveshwaranagar, have seen knee-deep water stagnate on the roads. The retention wall of Vrishabhavathi valley on Mysuru Road was breached in some locations, leading to flooding. Apart from that, many SWDs overflowed causing flooding on streets.  

Several basements and apartment complexes have been flooded. Thousands of homes across the city were flooded.

Minister K. Gopalaiah has requested the Chief Minister to provide relief compensation for over 800 families affected by flooding in his Mahalakshmi Layout constituency, which gives an idea of the widespread damage caused by the rains across the city.

Photos | Wet & cold summer in Bengaluru

Pre-monsoon clouds over Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru on May 16, 2022.  This summer, Bengaluru has been receiving rain since April. As a result, average temperate has been below normal and the city has been relatively cool this summer.

Heavy rain led to inundation of Mysuru Road in the evening of May 17, 2022. 

Commuters and pedestrians put themselves at risk when they walk in flooded areas because of the possibility of falling in an open manhole or a drain.

You can gauge the depth of the water that had accumulated on Mysuru Road in Bengaluru on the evening of May 17, 2022.

You can never tell how many death traps are hidden under this water

People venture out in their personal vehicles.

The morning revealed the risks. A portion of the road, around Namma Metro pillar # 489 on Mysuru Road near Bangalore University junction, was washed away following heavy overnight rains, in Bengaluru on May 18, 2022. 

Two persons were washed away during heavy rains while working inside a huge pipe, which is part of Cauvery 5th Stage drinking water pipeline project of BWSSB, on the double road of Ullal Upanagar BDA Layout in the western part of Bengaluru, on May 18, 2022. 

A third person, who was working with the duo in the pipeline project at Ullala Upanagara, was lucky enough to escape their fate. But, how may people have to die or lose their homes and belongings before the Karnataka Government and the BBMP solve the problem of flooding during every spell of heavy rain in Bengaluru.

It was a common sight to see people trying to push out water that had entered their homes across the city. In several pockets, BBMP officials and local elected representatives have arranged for affected families to shift to marriage halls. 

The civic administration and the Karnataka Government have drawn a lot of flak on social media, wherein citizens have pointed out to how the city crumbles with every rain. A video of a person wading through chest deep water at Nayandahalli mockingly thanking Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who also holds charge of the city, for a ‘new swimming pool’ has gone viral. 

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who holds charge of Bengaluru development, visited rain-affected areas in the city.

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai visiting rain-affected areas in Bengaluru on May 18, 2022.

Chief Civic Commissioner Tushar Girinath said more than the quantum of rainfall, rain pouring during a short window of a few hours in the night led to widespread damage across Bengaluru. “Moreover, these are pre-monsoon showers. Drain works are under way in most parts of the city in preparation of the monsoon. We have set a deadline of June 1 to clear drains. Hence, these heavy rains led to overflowing drains in some places,” he said. 

The city recorded rains in the range of 32 mm in Mahadevapura to 153.5 mm in Horamavu.

Yelahanka, Jakkur, Atturu, Vidyaranyapura, Rajamahal Guttahalli, Sampangirama Nagar, Hampi Nagar, Vidyapeetha, Doddanekkundi, Mahalakshmi Layout, Pulikeshi Nagar, Banaswadi are some of the other areas that received over 100 mm (10 cm) of rainfall, as per data released by Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Cell (KSNDMC).

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) centre in Bengaluru, the city recorded 114.6 mm of rain. “The rains were indeed heavy (over 11 cm) and were concentrated during a short duration, which may have caused widespread inundation in the city,” said Prasad, a senior IMD official.