A sudden wave of heavy rain and hailstorms lashed Bengaluru in Karnataka state on Wednesday evening, pulling the city out of peak summer heat but throwing normal life into disarray within hours and causing deaths.
Heavy rains accompanied by gusty winds cooled the city after temperatures rose to 37 degrees, but also led to widespread waterlogging, traffic congestion and flooding in several parts.
Several districts reported waist-deep water, while major government offices, including parts of Vidhana Soudha, were submerged. The sudden amount of rain submerged civic infrastructure, stranding commuters and disrupting routine activities across the city.
The storm also turned deadly, with seven people, including a child, killed after a compound wall collapsed at Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital, even as separate incidents of electrocution and structural damage were reported elsewhere.
Read also | Seven people were killed after a wall of a government hospital collapsed amid heavy rains in Bengaluru
1. Bengaluru rains and hailstorms: What happened
As the rains fell, the city, due to drought, witnessed severe waterlogging in just two hours.
There was waist-deep water in several areas like Richmond Town and Shanthinagar, resembling flowing streams. The city also witnessed widespread traffic chaos for long hours in multiple locations.
Unexpected rains caused waterlogging inside government offices, including the corridors of Vidhana Soudha, the seat of power. The office of Opposition Leader R Ashoka was also submerged in water.
2. 10 dead and many injured in Bengaluru
Seven people, including a child, were killed and seven others injured when the wall of the Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital complex collapsed due to heavy rain.
The death toll since Wednesday rose to 10 on Thursday, with three more deaths reported, two due to electrocution and one due to a collapsed structure during the storm, according to PTI.
The government hospital is located in a densely populated area and witnesses heavy daily traffic.
Vendors and small businesses often operate along its perimeter, especially near adjacent pedestrian walkways.
Mallikarjun Karg on Thursday asked the Karnataka government to take necessary precautions to ensure incidents like the collapse do not recur, according to a PTI report.
“According to one version, it was an old complex, another version is that it was not built properly… I saw that there were cracks in the complex. I spoke to people there, and the complex should be repaired, and street vendors and others affected should be compensated.”
3. More deaths were reported amid the havoc of rain
In another incident, a 35-year-old man, identified as Raghu, died due to electrocution on Bannerghatta Road near Vega City Mall.
In a separate case in Yarab Nagar, student Syed Sufyan died after coming into contact with a live electrical wire while trying to stop his motorcycle during the rain, police said, according to another PTI report.
Another death was reported in Chamarajapet, where Manjunath died on the spot after a cement block fell and punctured the roof of a house during the storm.
Civil authorities said that at least 87 trees and 131 branches were uprooted across the city, disrupting daily life.
Trees were reported uprooted in many parts of the city, including Malleswaram, Shanthinagar and Seshadripuram.
According to the Greater Bengaluru Authority’s Command and Control Centre, trees fell at at least 50 locations.
Read also | Bengaluru rains flood iconic Church Street library, destroying more than 4,000 books: ‘This feels terrible’
4. Vehicle movement was disrupted, and traffic jams in the city
Since heavy rain fell in the evening, many office-goers struggled to return home. There were also reports of disruption to metro services.
Vehicular movement across main roads and intersections was severely affected, as vehicle movement was very slow.
The agency reported that many low-lying areas were flooded.
Fire and emergency services personnel, along with traffic police and civilian employees, were deployed at multiple locations to remove parked vehicles, uproot trees, and regulate traffic.
Officials said pumps were used to clear flooded roads.
5. The success of the library and online reading community gatherings
Heavy rains that lashed Bengaluru on Wednesday wreaked havoc on one of the city’s famous bookshops. HT previously reported that Bookworm, located on Church Street, shared a series of photos of the flooded store with books floating on the water.
“Due to heavy rains in Bangalore, we lost between 4,000 and 5,000 books,” the library wrote on its Instagram page. The first photo shows the ground, likely outside the store, covered in hail.
The rest of the pictures show the books submerged or floating under the rainwater that flooded the store.
While many expressed sadness over the situation, some offered help and urged other book readers to get involved as well.
