One man died after being electrocuted by a live wire in the heavy rain and wind that battered the city on Saturday, 25 May, Bengaluru mayor Gangambike Mallikarjun confirmed to The Quint. These pre-monsoon showers are expected to continue for the rest of the week.
Satish, a painter from Ramachandrappa layout, Cox town, had stepped outside of his house to remove a coconut frond that had fallen in the rain when the 35-year-old touched the live wire entangled with the frond. A compensation of Rs 5 lakh has been announced by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to his family.
According to figures maintained by the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom), the downpour caused 621 tree branches to fall on electric lines causing power outage in areas like Hebbal, Malleshwaram, Ganganagar, Chandra Layout, R T Nagar, Indiranagar, Frazer Town, Anaikkal, Kaglipur, Banaswadi, R S Palya, Banshankari Second Street. 255 electric poles were also reported broken.
The city was hit by another dangerous storm, accompanied by incessant rain, at around 9pm on Sunday, 26 May.
The traffic in the city had gone haywire due to the erratic weather. A billboard had fallen down near Trumpet Circle, affecting the traffic in the area. The dense traffic on KIA road, Mehkri Circle created inconvenience to the commuters, including ambulances. Passengers to the airport were asked to use a different route.
The traffic jams, caused by the fallen trees on Sampige Road and water-logged roads in Basavangudi, made the weekend a difficult one for the residents of the area.
Though the rainfall was not heavy on Sunday, the thunderous storm made it hazardous. According to the Meteorological department’s official website, Bengaluru city experienced rainfall at 27.2 mm on Sunday. The Met department has also predicted that light to moderate rainfall is very likely in the city.
Showers Symptom of Pre-Monsoon
Dr Srinivasa Reddy of KSNDMC told The Quint that these rainfalls are a part of the pre-monsoon. Pre-monsoon is characterised by high temperature, thunderstorms, lightning, hailstorms, heavy rainfall and gusty winds.
“These pre-monsoon showers are because of cyclonic circulation over the south-interior Karnataka and another trough is there from this part till south Tamil Nadu.”Dr Srinivasa Reddy, KSNDMC
“Pre-monsoon starts from March to May end. We are at the end of pre-monsoon. After monsoon starts, it will stop. Now we are at the transition, that is why we are getting heavy rains the last one week,” Dr Srinivasa Reddy said.
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