The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : It rained for 14 hours

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Dec 21, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

It rained for 14 hours

Staff Reporter

— Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

MAROONED: BMTC commuters in Bangalore had a tough time as most bus stops were flooded because of rainfall on Thursday.

Bangalore: This was a familiar sight in the city: stranded commuters wading through waterlogged roads to board their bus, even as bus stands become shelters against rain – not to mention the traffic jams that followed. All this in the aftermath of two days of moderate rainfall in Bangalore.

The rainfall on Thursday, at 13.5 mm, together with Wednesday’s steady rain, exceeded the average rainfall for December, which is 22.1 mm.

Wednesday had recorded the heaviest 24-hour rainfall in 14 years. The 22.8 mm (recorded between 8.30 a.m. on Wednesday and 8.30 a.m. on Thursday) reflected its sheer relentlessness – it rained continuously for 14 hours, alternatively dipping into a drizzle and picking up into a shower, according to the meteorological centre.

The rain behaved rather differently on Thursday – in unpredictable fits and starts.

Local denizen Ashok Prasad, who waited it out in the morning, decided it was finally time to step out. Having looked long and hard skyward to make sure that clouds were indeed holding up, he approached his motorcycle on the porch. And as Murphy’s Law would have it, without any warning it began to pour. After several escape attempts, Mr. Prasad decided to allow the weather to win its game, braving the rain and arriving at work drenched to the socks. Friday promises not to be different: expect cloudy weather and light rain, according to the Meteorological Centre. Officials at the centre say that the clouds will recede after 24 hours.

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