Heavy rains in parts of Karnataka have caused major flooding in parts of the state, particularly in Ramanagara district near Bengaluru. The downpour over the last few days has caused parts of the newly-constructed Bengaluru-Mysuru highway stretch in Ramanagara to become inundated with water, with visuals showing vehicles almost getting washed away in the strong currents of the floodwater. In light of the situation, the Ramanagara police have issued an advisory to citizens to avoid the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway, and instead reach Mysuru from Bengaluru via Kanakapura or Kunigal.
In the advisory dated Saturday, August 27, the police had said that heavy overnight rains caused several lakes in the district to overflow and breach the walls. As a result, the water flowed onto the Bengaluru-Mysuru road causing dangerously high flooding on the national highway. It further stated that repair works will begin on the lake walls and due to very heavy traffic in the region that has been stopped up due to the downpour, people have been advised not to take the regular Bengaluru-Mysuru highway.
According to a bulletin issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Saturday morning, over the previous 24 hours, Ramanagara received 132 mm of rain. Further, the weather watchdog on Sunday, August 28, has issued a yellow rainfall warning across the state, particularly in coastal Karnataka, five districts in north interior parts — Dharwad, Gadag, haveri and Kalaburagi — and about eight districts in south interior Karnataka. Visuals from the flooded stretch of the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway show muddy runoff flowing through the road with a strong current, reaching up to the windows of cars that were trying to navigate the way. Some had abandoned their cars amid the downpour, and the flood water was seen gushing over the parked vehicles and threatening to topple them over. Data from the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Management Centre (KSNDMC) shows that the highest amount of rainfall over the last 24 hours was recorded in Chamarajanagar district, with 82 mm.
#RamanagaraRains | Heavy rains have been lashing Karnataka’s #Ramanagara since Sunday. #Heavyrain #KarnatakaRain pic.twitter.com/xFLy9d2dpr
— TheNewsMinute (@thenewsminute) August 29, 2022