A tractor being used to rescue people from a waterlogged area

BENGALURU: Battered by 130mm rainfall in about 12 hours from Sunday evening till dawn on Monday, Bengaluru is scrambling to count its losses: Three dead, 500 homes flooded, 20-plus lakes ready to overflow, dozens of streets in tony areas reduced to waterways, flooded underpasses and flyovers closed to traffic, vehicular movement suffering miles-long disruption for hours and public bus services sputtering to a halt in several areas of Bengaluru.

Heavy rain — triggered by convergence of two low-pressure systems and accompanied by intense thunderstorms — pounded south, north and eastern parts of the city. India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heavy rainfall in Bengaluru for the next five days.As distraught citizens picked up the pieces to start a fresh week, BBMP chief commissioner Maheshwar Rao termed it the second-highest rainfall in a decade and said, “Sometimes, things get out of hand; we are working on it.”Manmohan Kamath, 63, and Dinesh, 12, a security guard’s son, were electrocuted while pumping out rainwater that had flooded Madhuvana Apartment in Dollars Colony at BTM Layout 2nd Stage, in south Bengaluru, around 6.15pm Monday.“Kamath, who stayed on the first floor, procured a motor to pump out the water. Around the same time, guard Bharath’s son Dinesh came out to assist Kamath. When the motor was plugged in, both were electrocuted. Other residents rushed them to hospital, but it was too late,” police said. Dinesh had come to Bengaluru from Nepal along with his parents three months ago.Shashikala D, 32, a housekeeping staffer in Whitefield, died after the compound wall of the building that housed their office collapsed. The CM has announced Rs 5-lakh compensation to her family. Nearly 50km from Whitefield, Kote Layout in Kengeri saw water enter 100 homes, while in RR Nagar’s Vrishabhavathi Valley, flooding killed five animals — three cows, a calf, and a buffalo.Streets turned into streams, leaving 44 four-wheelers and 93 two-wheelers submerged or swept adrift. Twenty seven trees were uprooted, and branches fell from 43 more. The State Disaster Response Force deployed boats to evacuate people from flooded homes and neighbourhoods.Though no major tech companies declared work from-home for employees, they are keeping all options open if rain hits the city with equal force in the coming days, industry sources said.Rainfall was the heaviest in Kengeri (132mm), Vaderahalli (131mm), Chikkabanavara (127mm), Chowdeshwarinagar (104mm), and Kempegowda ward (103.5mm), far exceeding the 70mm capacity of Bengaluru’s stormwater drains. Other areas such as Koramangala, Basavanagudi, Marathahalli and HAL Airport also recorded over 90mm rainfall, according to Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre.In Yelahanka, 20 of 29 lakes reached full capacity. The Central Silk Board junction was inundated.Outdated systems can’t cope: officialDouble Road, Richmond Town and Shantinagar in the heart of the city saw waterlogged roads and floating two-wheelers. Electronics City elevated expressway and Outer Ring Road stretch towards Marathahalli were shut due to severe flooding.Public transport services were badly hit. The BMTC bus depot at Shantinagar was under water. “When drivers and conductors arrived at 6am, they couldn’t take the buses out,” a BMTC official said. The Central Crime Branch office also flooded, damaging official records stored in eight ground-floor rooms.In Mahadevapura, at least 10 locations experienced heavy flooding. Sai Layout was fully submerged, again. Authorities deployed six tractors, two JCBs, three fire tenders, 35 staff, and twoSDRF boats for relief. Food and water were distribut ed to affected residents. Flooding was reported from Deepa Nursing Home in Marathahalli, Chinnappanahalli 5th Cross, Panathur Underpass, Green Hood, Iblur Junction, Balaji Layout (Kothanur), Krishna Nagar (A Narayanapura), Sunil Layout, Haralur, and BSP La yout (Kasavanahalli).In south Bengaluru, parts of Madiwala, Koramangala VI Block and Ejipura were submerged. A temporary bund near Bellandur was cleared using earthmovers to ease waterlogging. BBMP engineer-in-chief, Prahalad BS, said flooding at Silk Board worsened due to uncoordinated construction of an alternative drainage line. He said outdated systems, designed for 40mm to 70mm of rain, can no longer cope. “With climate change, we must start measuring rainfall in mm per minute.Rapid urbanisation without drainage upg rades is the root cause.”