11 killed amid rain in Karnataka, state to receive heavy rainfall till August 5

In Uttara Kannada district, four members of a family, including two girls aged 11 and 6, were buried alive as a portion of a hillock collapsed on a house. Rain-related deaths were also reported from Vijayanagar and Ballari where two people were washed away.

Woman covers herself a she walks amid heavy rainfall in Bengaluru. (Express Photo by Jithendra M)

The weather department stated that heavy rainfall is being recorded in the state owing to the southwest monsoon being vigorous over South Interior Karnataka, active over North Interior Karnataka and normal over coastal Karnataka.

The MeT department has predicted that heavy rainfall will likely occur at isolated places over the Bagalkote, Gadag, Haveri, Koppal, Raichur, Kalaburgi, and Vijayapura districts in North Interior Karnataka and put these areas on ‘yellow alert’ on August 3 and ‘orange alert’ on August 4 and 5.

Heavy to very heavy rainfall is also likely to occur at isolated places in Chikkamagaluru and Kodagu districts and they have been put on red alert till August 5 and the Ballari, Chitradurga, and Shivamogga districts till August 5.

The IMD said that areas which will witness heavy rain in the next few days may see localised flooding of roads, water logging in low-lying areas, and closure of underpasses mainly in urban areas. It added there will be an “occasional reduction in visibility due to heavy rainfall. Disruption of traffic in major cities due to water logging in roads leading to increased travel time. Minor damage to kutcha roads. Possibilities of damage to vulnerable structures. Localized Landslides/Mudslides”.

Commuter rides a bike amid heavy rainfall in Bengaluru. (Express Photo by Jithendra M)

Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have been deployed in the coastal districts of the state, said officials.

Bengaluru rain record

According to the IMD, Bengaluru recorded 63.3 mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours, the highest in the last five years recorded in the month of August. On August 15, 2017, the city had recorded 128.7 mm of rainfall in the state. Heavy rainfall is predicted in the city on Wednesday.

Since June 1, Bengaluru has received 459 mm of rainfall, a departure from the normal rainfall of 253 mm. The IMD’s observatory at the Kempegowda International Airport recorded 82 mm of rainfall.

During a media interaction last week, the chief commissioner of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Tushar Giri Nath said the city will not face the issue of waterlogging as it did last year. However, several localities in Bengaluru like Horamavu, Sarjapur, Bellandur, Nandini Layout, M S Palya, K R Puram, Jnana Bharati, Kaggadasapura, and Jakkur reported waterlogging on roads and houses being marooned on Monday and Tuesday.

The stormwater drain connecting the Seegehalli lake in K R Puram overflowed and entered into Whitecity Layout thereby flooding the residential areas.

Mahadevapura MLA Aravind Limbavali had promised to construct a new drain on the public-private partnership model to flush out rainwater which accumulates at the mouth of Rainbow Drive Layout in Sarjapur, but the work is yet to begin. Residents in the area were left stranded in the aftermath of heavy showers on Monday and Tuesday.

The BBMP control room received several calls related to water gushing inside houses and tree falls. Areas like Banashankari, Dollar Colony, Nandini Layout, S S R Layout, Sankey Tank Road, and Richmond Town reported tree falls. The control room confirmed that no casualty has been reported so far due to rain.