On Sunday night, Bengaluru experienced very heavy rain, possibly breaking records. This caused many roads and neighborhoods to flood by Monday morning.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Bengaluru received 105.5 mm of rain by 8:30 am on Monday. Most of this, about 90 mm, fell overnight between Sunday and Monday. The weather stations at Kempegowda International Airport and HAL recorded 44.2 mm and 78.3 mm of rain, respectively.
This is the second time in ten years that Bengaluru has had more than 100 mm of rain in a single day in May. Kengeri recorded 132 mm of rain on Sunday night, which is the second-highest rainfall for May in the last ten years. The highest was 155 mm in May 2022. The biggest one-day rain in May ever was in 1909, with 153.9 mm.
Many areas in the city were flooded, including Wilson Garden, HSR Layout, Nandagokula Layout in Nagavara, HBR Layout 5th block, Hennur, Sai Layout, Manyata Tech Park, ST Bed Layout in Koramangala, and Silk Board.
Because of water on the roads, traffic moved very slowly in several places on Monday morning. These places included Outer Ring Road near BTM Layout, Silk Board junction, Vidyashilp railway underpass, HSR Layout, NICE Road, Kanakapura Main Road, Sony World Signal, Lowry railway underpass, Hennur underpass, Balagere T Cross, Jnanabharathi, RR Nagar, Bhashyam Circle, Allalasandra, and Kasturi Nagar.
Earth-moving machines were used to clear water at the Silk Board junction. Tractors were also seen near Hennur. A goods vehicle was stuck underwater at a railway underpass near RMV 2nd stage. The BMTC bus depot at Shantinagar was flooded, and rescue teams used inflatable boats in Sai Layout.
The Bengaluru Traffic Police closed the Electronics City flyover because of waterlogging near Roopena Agrahara.
Uma Mani, a resident of HSR Layout Sector 7, said, “The drains are not cleaned properly. Some drain covers are left open, and garbage is dumped in them. Parts of the stormwater drains are still not finished. The whole HSR Layout is flooded.” She added that when she asked local officials about cleaning the drains, they said there was no money for it.
The heavy rain also affected the police. The Central Crime Branch (CCB) office in Shanthinagar was flooded on the ground floor. However, a police source said no important files or documents were damaged.
