Heavy rains coupled with lightning claimed four more lives in the State on Friday.

Summer showers have so far claimed 24 lives in the State. Lightning struck Padmanabh (42) and Manjunath (28) while they were working in a vineyard in Byavarahalli village in Kunadana hobli in Devanahalli taluk, Bangalore rural district.  Kempaiah (55) was killed by lightning in Chonnanavalli of Magadi taluk while Doddakempanna (62) was killed as a tree branch fell on him in Chennarayanapatna, Bangalore rural.

Heavy rains caused extensive damage in  Nelamangala, Devanahalli and Hoskote taluks.
The extent of damage is yet to be ascertained. According to the Revenue department officials, an ex gratia of Rs one lakh has been disbursed to families of all the victims who lost their lives due to the heavy rains.

Roofs blown off

Roofs of at least 25 sheds were blown off as heavy rain accompanied with high velocity winds lashed Kyravadagi near Kudalasangama in Bijapur taluk on Thursday night.

Kyravadagi village was washed away in the 2007 Malaprabha floods and 180 affected families were accommodated in temporary sheds. Rain also washed away household articles. The construction of Asare houses for the residents, launched in 2009 is yet to be completed.

Crops washed away

Crops in more than 100 acres of land were washed away as heavy rains lashed Davangere district on Thursday night. Sixteen houses have been damaged partially. The taluk received 22.7 mm of rainfall. Rest of the taluks in the district received moderate rainfall and no damages have been reported so far.

Deputy Commissioner S H Vijay Kumar said the the damage has been estimated at Rs 20 lakh.

According to Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre, Director V S Prakash, heavy rains coupled with thunderstorms and lightning are a common phenomenon during the months of April and May.

Pre-monsoon showers occur when the land mass gets heated and a moisture incursion takes place in the sea.

As a result, heat and cold wave come into contact and a convective activity takes place locally, which transforms into lightning and thunderstorms. Unlike during the monsoon, when the rainfall activity is persistent, the pre-monsoon showers do not continue for more than three to four hours, he said.

Haveri and Shimoga received widespread rainfall, while Bagalkot, Gadag, Chikmagalur, Uttar Kannada received fairly widespread rainfall in the past two days.