Trees Down, Metro Out, Wires Sparking In Bengaluru — And IMD Says Brace For More

Trees Down, Metro Out, Wires Sparking In Bengaluru — And IMD Says Brace For More Published By, Edited By Last Updated: May 22, 2026, 07:59 IST Thursday's pre-monsoon storm paralysed Bengaluru — 50 trees uprooted, Metro disrupted, roads flooded, and a viral video captured wires bursting in Indiranagar. More rain due today. Hail, 46kmph winds, and 44mm of rain in two hours left Bengaluru reeling — trees crushed cars, Metro halted, roads vanished. (X/@karnatakaportf & @yashodhannn) Thursday evening, Bengaluru didn’t just get wet — it got walloped. A savage pre-monsoon storm turned peak-hour commute into a city-wide nightmare, bringing hail, uprooted trees, sparking electrical poles, Metro disruptions, and roads that vanished under water. And here’s the kicker: this May is already on track to be the wettest in the city’s recorded history — and the skies aren’t done yet. The storm announced itself with deceptive calm. A bright, sunny afternoon gave way to an ominous blanket of dark clouds by early evening. By 6.20pm, IMD had issued an orange alert — and within minutes, the skies opened. Wind speeds hit 46 kmph in isolated pockets between 6.30pm and 7pm. By 8.30pm, the city observatory had clocked 44.2mm of rainfall. The HAL area, just across town, recorded a mere 3.8mm — a stark reminder of just how freakishly localised Bengaluru’s storms can be. What Broke Down First? The Metro, for starters. Metal sheets blown onto the tracks near Hoodi and Benniganahalli forced Namma Metro to run short-loop services on the Purple and Green Lines. Delays stretched to 20–25 minutes. “Metro trains were extremely crowded, with security personnel pushing people into the coaches to close the doors," commuter Subramanya was quoted by The Times of India. Interchange stations at Majestic and RV Road became near-stampede zones. On the roads, two-wheeler riders navigated flyovers with near-zero visibility, battling crosswinds and waterlogging simultaneously. Low-lying stretches — Sankey Road, Brigade Road, SJP Road, Varthur Kodi — turned into rivers. The KR Circle underpass was barricaded after it flooded entirely. How Bad Was The Destruction? The Greater Bengaluru Authority’s control room logged nearly 50 tree-fall incidents across the city. A tree near City Hospital on West of Chord Road crushed two parked cars. Another came down on a vehicle at Indiranagar 16th Cross. A massive tree near Shankarmutt disrupted traffic for hours. Similar incidents played out near Domlur, Banaswadi, Davis Road, and Swami Vivekananda Road Metro station. Remarkably, no injuries were reported. But Wait — Were Those Wires Actually Sparking? Yes, and it was caught on camera. Niket Raj Dwivedi, founder of Medial, shared a 13-second video from Indiranagar on X showing an electric pole sparking violently before the wires appeared to burst. “Heavy rains in Indiranagar and of course electric wires go brrrr," he wrote. The clip went viral instantly, reigniting debates about the city’s ageing electrical infrastructure. “The wire was naked and was glowing red before blowing up," Dwivedi confirmed in replies. Heavy rains in Indiranagar and of course electric wires go brrrr pic.twitter.com/a1TYyLfqZ Niket Raj Dwivedi (@niketrajdwivedi) May 21, 2026 Is Today (May 22) Any Safer? Not entirely. IMD has Bengaluru under a yellow alert, warning of heavy rain, thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds. Until May 26, the city is likely to see generally cloudy skies with moderate rain and thundershowers accompanied by gusty winds of 40–50 kmph, with maximum temperatures hovering around 27°C. Worse, this May is already on track to become the wettest in Bengaluru’s recorded history, with the city having received 24.6 cm of rain as of May 19 alone — and forecasters believe it will breach the previous record of 30.5 cm set in 2023. Keep those umbrellas ready, Bengaluru. This storm season is far from over. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: May 22, 2026, 07:59 IST News cities bengaluru-news Trees Down, Metro Out, Wires Sparking In Bengaluru — And IMD Says Brace For More Disclaimer: Comments reflect users’ views, not News18’s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments...