Intense rain, arising out of local weather patterns, resulted in an abnormal situation in two capital regions in southern India, Bengaluru and Vijayawada, on Thursday even as Hyderabad got a respite from days of heavy downpours. Flooded roads and traffic snarls slowed down life to a snail’s pace, with Bengaluru witnessing serious disruption following 65mm rain in a couple of hours, the highest in 10 years for the month of October.
In Nandinathapura village in Periyapatna taluk of Mysuru district, six persons were killed as lightning struck the temple where they had taken shelter. The victims were tending to cattle when a sudden downpour forced them to rush for cover into the temple.
Roads cut off
Traffic in Bengaluru was worse than during normal peak hours as arterial roads were cut off for a few hours due to water-logging.
Several localities were flooded, with all access roads under sheets of water. The sudden, heavy rain caught citizens off guard, leaving them stranded in the middle of roads.
As rain pounded the Electronics City area for over an hour, the main road was submerged in knee-deep water, and the Bengaluru traffic police allowed only heavy vehicles on it for some time.
Vijayawada woke up to heavy rain, and commuters were stranded midway. According to the India Meteorological Department, the city received rainfall of 14.4 mm between Wednesday evening and Thursday morning.
