Bengaluru, India’s tech capital, experienced severe flooding on Tuesday following heavy overnight rainfall, leaving parts of the city submerged.
A building under construction collapsed due to the downpour, with several people feared trapped inside.
Indian weather officials have warned of more heavy rain in the coming days, driven by an “upper air cyclonic circulation” off the southern coast, impacting Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Bengaluru, once celebrated as India’s “garden city,” has been grappling with urban challenges including traffic congestion and poor infrastructure. Rapid urbanization and encroachment on the city’s lakes have severely limited its ability to manage floodwaters, as blocked canals prevent the city from efficiently siphoning off water.
Residents faced waterlogged streets, fallen trees, and vehicles floating in flooded areas after the city received its highest recorded rainfall in 24 hours in decades. Authorities noted that Bengaluru recorded 241 mm of rain over the past week, more than double the typical rainfall for this period.
Television footage showed rescue operations in action, with people being evacuated by boats and tractors, clutching their belongings as they were taken to safety. At least 15 individuals were rescued from the collapsed building, with authorities continuing the search for more victims.
This latest bout of flooding comes in stark contrast to the acute water shortage the city faced earlier this year. Bengaluru’s most severe flooding in decades occurred in 2022, disrupting its IT industry and leaving many neighborhoods submerged in waist-deep water.
