E-Paper
Rain fury in south India: 5 dead in Karnataka, 3 in Tamil Nadu, Kerala under IMD red alert
The India Meteorological Department placed Bengaluru under orange alert of Tuesday, expecting very heavy rainfall of 11 cm to 20 cm.
Heavy rainfall has battered southern parts of India over the past couple of days, causing widespread waterlogging and disrupting daily life in parts of the region, including Karnataka's Bengaluru.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has placed Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu under rain alerts. Follow Bengaluru weather live updates
Karnataka weather
Bengaluru rain:
Torrential downpour in the capital city of Karnataka heavily disrupted daily life, with people having to navigate through knee-deep water levels on the road and traffic jams at several places.
Silk Road Junction, Hosur Road, BTM Layout, among other key city roads, were heavily flooded.
Earlier, Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar said that 210 flood-prone areas had been identified in the city. He added that the majority of the work had been done to fix the areas, while progress was underway in the remaining spots.
In Photos | How 24 hours of relentless rain brought Bengaluru to a standstill
The Congress-led state government has built 197 km of stormwater drains in the city. And he said that they are spending ₹2,000 crore on the drains.
Rain-related deaths:
The death toll in rain-related incidents in Karnataka stood at five. With rain battering Bengaluru in the past 36 hours, three lives were lost in the city.
Two people died due to electrocution at Madhuvan Apartment in NS Palya near BTM 2nd Stage. As per the Mico Layout Police, 63-year-old Manmoham Kamath was trying to use a motorised pump to clear water out of his house on Monday evening. But when he connected the pump to a socket, there was a short circuit which, resulted in his death.
At the same time, Dinesh, the 12-year-old son of a Nepalese man working in the apartment complex, was standing near Kamath. He was also electrocuted.
ALSO READ | Bengaluru heavy rainfall: Employees demand work-from-home
Though residents of the apartment pulled both of them out of the water quickly and rushed them to a nearby hospital, doctors declared them dead on arrival.
Earlier on Monday, a 35-year-old housekeeping staff member of a software firm in the Mahadevapura area, Shashikala, died after a wall on the company premises collapsed on her.
In addition, two people died due to lightning in Raichur and Karwar regions, officials said.
Rain alerts:
In the last 24 hours, IMD has received 30 mm of rain, and in the intervening night of Sunday and Monday morning, the city had recorded 105 mm of rain.
The city is placed under orange alert for Tuesday, while other districts of Karnataka are under yellow alert.
An orange alert is issued for very heavy rain of 11 cm to 20 cm, and a yellow alert is meant for heavy rainfall between 6 cm and 11 cm.
IMD's Bengaluru Centre chief N Puviarasu said that though the current amount of rain does nothing for rural areas, it can have quite an impact on concretised cities like Bengaluru. Therefore, an orange alert has been issued to help authorities prepare accordingly.
The areas that are expected to be affected on Tuesday are Bagalkot, Bangalore Urban, Bangalore Rural, Belgaum, Chikkaballapura, Dharwad, Gadag, Kolar, Koppal, Vijayanagara districts.
Uttar Kannada, Dakshina Kannada, Bengaluru Rural and Bengaluru Urban districts are under yellow alert.
In view of the weather alert, IMD has advised people to stay indoors and avoid unnecessary travel.
Cyclonic circulation:
IMD also said that an upper air cyclonic circulation is likely to form over east-central Arabian Sea off the Karnataka coast around May 21, under whose influence, a low-pressure area is expected to form over the same region. This will move northwards and then intensify further.
Kerala weather
Rain alerts:
The India Meteorological Department has placed four northern Kerala districts under red alert, including Kasaragod, Kannur, Wayanad and Kozhikode.
And as torrential rain continued to batter several parts of the state, an orange alert was also issued for Palakkad, Malappuram, and Thrissur.
The districts of Idukki, Ernakulam, Kottayam, Alappuzha, and Pathanamthitta are under yellow alert.
As per the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA), a red alert is issued for "extremely heavy rainfall", with rain exceeding 204.4 mm within 24 hours.
Under orange alert, "very heavy rainfall" is expected, which the IMD defines as a range of 115.6 mm and 204.5 mm in 24 hours.
KSDMA also warned that incessant rainfall might increase the chances of landslides and mudslides, especially in the hilly areas.
They have asked everyone to exercise caution, requesting residents of low-lying areas to assess the situation and move to nearby relief camps or shelters if necessary.
Southwest monsoon:
This comes as the weather office also announced the likely arrival of southwest monsoon in Kerala during the next four to five days. If it so happens, then it will be the earliest onset over the Indian mainland since 2009, when rain began on May 23, against its usual June 1 time.
“Conditions are also likely to become favourable for further advancement of southwest monsoon over some more parts of South Arabian Sea, remaining parts of Maldives and Comorin area, some parts of Lakshadweep area, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, some more parts South and Central Bay of Bengal, Northeast Bay of Bengal and some parts of northeastern states during the same period,” the IMD said.
The weather office's bulletin said that fairly widespread to widespread light or moderate rainfall, along with thunderstorms, lightning and gusty wind are likely over Kerala. It also predicted that isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected over Kerala and Mahe on May 20.
Tamil Nadu weather
Heavy rain:
Tamil Nadu has witnessed thunderstorms along with squally winds in the past 24 hours. Several isolated places over the state have also received heavy to very heavy rainfall.
Chennai is likely to have partly cloudy skies with the possibility of moderate rain or thunderstorms on Tuesday. IMD has predicted consistent rain in the city and around it till May 26.
Rain-related deaths:
At least three people, including a 10-year-old boy, died in a wall collapse amid heavy rainfall in Tamil Nadu.
The incident took place around 7 pm on Monday on the Muthalamman Kovil Street in Valaiyangulam village near Thirupparankundram. Madurai District Superintendent of Police Arvind said that the deceased were identified as 65-year-old Ammappillai, her 10-year-old grandson Veeramani, and their neighbor Vengatt, aged 55.
The victims were sitting near the entrance of Ammappillai's house during a power outage in the village earlier that evening. And as it rained heavily, a portion of the house's wall collapsed on them.
Neighbours rushed the three to a nearby hospital, where Vengatti succumbed to her injuries. Ammappillai and her grandson were meanwhile referred to the Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai for further treatment, there, they also died.
The Perungudi police station has registered a case and an investigation has been launched.
(with ANI, PTI inputs)
