Karnataka: Building collapses in Bengaluru after heavy rains lash, no casualties reported

The rains disrupted normal activities for residents in different parts of the city. Trees were uprooted in several localities and severe water-logging was witnessed in an underpass in the KR circle area.

Bengaluru (Karnataka): An old building collapsed in Vidyaranyapura in Bengaluru after heavy rains lashed the city on Sunday, officials said. No casualties were reported, officials added. Heavy rainfall accompanied by hailstorms lashed Bengaluru on Sunday leading to severe water-logging in several parts of the city.

The rains disrupted normal activities for residents in different parts of the city. Trees were uprooted in several localities and severe water-logging was witnessed in an underpass in the KR circle area. People stuck in the underpass were safely rescued and taken to the hospital. The onset of monsoon over Kerala is likely to be delayed this year, predicting its arrival on June 4, four days after the normal date predicted on June 1, India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

"Southwest monsoon normally sets in over Kerala on June 1 with a standard deviation of about 7 days. India Meteorological Department (IMD) has been issuing operational forecasts for the date of monsoon onset over Kerala from 2005 onwards. An indigenously developed state-of-the-art statistical model with a model error of +- 4 days is used for the purpose," IMD stated.

Last year, the monsoon over Kerala occurred on May 29, two days after IMD's prediction on May 27. The operational forecasts of the date of monsoon onset over Kerala during the past 18 years (2005-2022) were proved to be correct except in 2015, the IMD said.

"The six predictors of monsoon onset used in the models are: i) Minimum Temperatures over Northwest India ii) Pre-monsoon rainfall peak over the south Peninsula iii) Outgoing Longwave Radiation (OLR) over the South China Sea (iv) Lower tropospheric zonal wind over Southeast Indian Ocean (v) Mean sea level pressure over Subtropical NW Pacific Ocean (vi) Upper tropospheric zonal wind over North East Indian Ocean," IMD release stated.

The southwest monsoon over the Indian mainland is marked by monsoon onset over Kerala and is an important indicator characterizing the transition from a hot and dry season to a rainy season. (ANI)