Cyclone Nivar is approaching Chennai and could result in rain in Bengaluru on Wednesday, according to Geeta Agnihotri, director-in-charge, Meteorological Centre, Bengaluru.
The wind speed will be around 100 to 120 kmph.
The cyclone is expected to result in heavy rainfall across south interior Karnataka on November 25 and 26. “Bengaluru is expected to get a share of this along with Chamarajanagar, Chikkaballapur, Kolar, Mysuru and more,” she says.
The rain is expected to reduce substantially after Thursday.
G S Srinivasa Reddy, former director and currently consultant at the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre, says the impact of the cyclone may not be as intense as expected.
He says the sooner the cyclone hits the coast the less severe it will be. “The strength of a cyclone generally decreases once it hits the land. If it moves further north before reaching the coast then there might be heavier rains,” he elaborates.
BBMP preparedness
This year the BBMP is working with Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) to better the flood managemnet in the city. "The city can handle up to 70mm rainfall per hour. Between 70mm and 100mm there is a likelihood of overflow of stormwater drains in certain parts of the city," says BBMP chief engineer Prahlad. He says the collaboaration with the KSNDMC has allowed them to scientifically identify, through geo-spatial mapping, which areas are prone to flooding and how much rainfall causes this to happen.
"We have run simulations to find out how, where and why flooding happens so we are more prepared than ever," he says.
BBMP teams are alert across the city and all trash has been cleaned from and desilting of the storm water drains have been done. "Cyclonic rains are low intesity long spell rains, they should not pose much of a threat. But if you run into any troubles in your locality one can reach out to the BBMP through the control rooms," he adds.
Central control room - 2222 1188; ward wise control room numbers are available online.
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