Monsoon activity has intensified again in Karnataka, and the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a Yellow Alert for Bengaluru and seven other districts. Heavy rainfall is also expected to occur in Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, Ramanagara, Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Mandya, Mysuru and Chamarajanagar districts within the next few hours.
However, heavy rainfall can cause power outages, traffic jams and tree branches to come down due to strong winds and even topple in the heavy rainfall. Drivers and the public have been advised to take precautions when travelling during the adverse weather conditions.
The warning comes as several parts of Bengaluru experienced intense evening showers that disrupted daily life in the city’s sleepy areas of Hebbal, Doddabommasandra, Vidyaranyapura, RT Nagar and other areas. BEL Road, where rainwater was reported to have been up to two feet high in some places.
The situation was so bad that two-wheeler riders and auto-rickshaw drivers faced a lot of difficulty navigating the flooded roads. Traffic was also slow as there were long delays on many of the main routes, with traffic slowing down on most of the key highways and major roads.
The rain also caused huge backlogs on the main roads of the city, with traffic snarls at the main intersections. The Mekhri Circle and the roads in and around Mekhri Circle had kilometres-long lines of cars as drivers sat in slow-moving traffic for hours. The heavy rainfall and waterlogged roads caused travel times in Bengaluru to be much slower due to the road congestion.
Many commuters took to social media to share photos and videos of flooded streets, stranded vehicles, and traffic gridlock in the city. The sudden weather change also showed the city’s struggles in a very difficult situation during the torrential rain.
We also found that numerous important underpasses in Bengaluru had been inundated with rainwater, making them unsafe for vehicles to pass through. The Shivananada Circle Underpass was among the worst affected, with about 4 feet of water in it; many drivers were forced to turn back to avoid the possibility of cars breaking down in flooded areas. Similar situations were witnessed in other low-lying areas where drainage systems could not handle the volume of rainwater.
The heavy rain also caused distress for people living in low-lying neighbourhoods. Residents in areas around Sultanpalya experienced rainwater seeping into several homes, damaging household goods, furniture and stored food items. People tried to clear water from their houses for hours as the rain continued. In Bharathi Nagar Ward of the Shivajinagar Assembly constituency, an overflowing stormwater drain led to water spilling onto roads and entering homes.
Many families had to deal with severe inconvenience and concern over sanitation and public health. With more rain expected in the coming hours, authorities are monitoring the situation closely and have been advising people to avoid unnecessary travel, stay away from waterlogged areas and to follow official weather advisories.
