Dust storm, downpour shake city

Dust storm, downpour shake city
Fallout: 1 Death,Tree Crashes, Power Outages,Accidents
The Times of India

Bangalore: The city witnessed an unprecedented dust storm and gusty winds, followed by torrential rain, on Monday evening, throwing life out of gear. The wind velocity touched a furious 90 kmph.

Traffic on Outer Ring Road came to a halt as commuters were blinded by the dust storm. Cyclists and other two-wheeler riders lost control and skidded due to the gust. One person was crushed to death and two were injured when a tree fell on them near HAL market off Airport Road. The deceased is Rajeev (25) of Thippasandra, a caterer. He was riding pillion on a scooter when the tree trapped them. The rider has been hospitalised. Ravi Raj and his wife had a miraculous escape when their car was trapped under the tree.

The city plunged into darkness when snapping of power lines caused outages. Residents complained that Bescom officials were slow to respond to their complaints.

Over a hundred trees were uprooted, most of them in south Bangalore. In the northern parts, flowering trees like gulmohur and jacaranda were unable to withstand the wind. In BTM Layout, Koramangala, Banashankari, Jayanagar, Basavanagudi, dozens of trees were uprooted. On Central College Road, five trees gave way.

Parts of Whitefield, Frazer Town, Nagavara, Airport Road, Koramangala Ring Road, HAL, Banaswadi and surrounding areas saw freak accidents. A. Jagannath (62) was hospitalised after he fell from his bicycle due to the strong wind.

South Bangalore areas again reported hailstorms. “This one was more furious than Saturday’s,’’ said Inderjeet Manoj of Bannerghatta. Residents had to remain indoors as it rained ice pieces.

“Bangalore experiences this phenomenon before monsoon, when rain-bearing cumulonimbus clouds result in squally thundershowers,’’ said officials at the Met department. The officials said Bangalore could well see more of extremes in weather — hot day hours followed by wet evenings.

The fury of the wind saw heaps of garbage churning into mini whirlpools in several street corners. As two-wheeler riders and pedestrians scampered for cover under trees, traffic movement became messy. Some commuters were seen standing beneath weak trunks which threatened to be uprooted any moment.