An hour of rain and strong gusts seems enough to paralyses most services in the city.
The brief shower on Friday saw traffic come to a standstill at important junctions, while many areas remained in darkness with officials struggling to restore power.
Barely ten minutes before the start of the Indian Premier League cricket match at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, a torrent of wind and rain enveloped most parts of the city, while some parts experienced hail briefly. In the half hour of heavy rain and strong gusts, more than 50 trees, branches and electricity poles were reported to have fallen all across the city.
Four trees fell in Jayanagar and J.P. Nagar each, three in Ashoknagar and Banashankari, while tree falls on Cubbon Road and Rajajinagar among other areas disrupted traffic flow. Compounding the situation, traffic in the central business district remained in limbo after thousands of fans made their way for the IPL match. With more than 29 electricity poles toppled in the rain, many parts of the city were under the cover of darkness on Saturday evening. According to the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company, nearly 1,586 complaints were received between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.
According to the Met Department, the city recorded 9.3 mm of rain, the first for May. In the previous month, the city saw a 10-year record of 226.5 mm of rain, or more than five times the “average” rainfall. Many places in the city, including the central business district, Jayanagar and Kengeri on the outskirts, even saw a brief fall of hail. This is the third time in over a week that hail has been reported in Bengaluru.
The weather phenomenon remains unusual in a city, which, on average sees a hail storm once in five years.
