The Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) issued a flood alert for the city during June 3- June 4.

The KSNDMC has warned that low lying areas in the city are vulnerable to flooding.

The alert reads: “According to the forecasted rain, flood vulnerable locations in Rajarajeshwari Nagar zone, East zone, South zone, Mahadevapura zone and Bommanahalli zone are expected to get severe inundation.”

According to the reports, the average annual rainfall in Bengaluru between June and September is 98cm, early showers have already accounted for 35 cm.

The disaster centre has also warned that there might be moderate inundation in the West and Dasanapura zones.

Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a weather warning of thunderstorm, gusty winds and lightning at various places in the country today (Monday, June 04). Heat wave conditions are very likely to occur at one or two pockets over West Rajasthan.

Thunderstorm accompanied with gusty winds and lightning are very likely at isolated places over Gangetic West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Vidarbha, Konkan and Goa, Madhya Maharashtra, Marathawada, Tamilnadu, Telangana, Rayalaseema and Interior Karnataka and Coastal Andhra Pradesh.

Heavy rain is also expected at isolated places over Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Assam and Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura, Telangana, Rayalaseema, Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.

Hindusthan Samachar/Shri Ram Shaw

Five people were killed in two separate rain-related incidents as pre-monsoon showers accompanied by thunderstorm and lightning hit the Nashik division over the weekend, the police said today.

The Nashik division in Maharashtra comprises five districts – Dhule, Jalgaon, Nandurbar, Ahmednagar and Nashik. A 32-year-old woman and her three minor daughters were killed when a tree fell on them at Varkhedi village in the neighbouring Dhule district yesterday, a police official said.

The deceased were identified as Anita Daduram Pavra and her daughters Vashila (3), Pinky (2) andRoshani (1), he said. In another incident, a 27-year-old man died when lightning struck him at Ambewadi in Igatpuri taluka of Nashik district last evening.

The deceased, Dashrath Dhondu Dhavale, a native of Nashik district, worked with the Mumbai fire brigade department, an official at the Igatpuri police station said. Heavy pre-monsoon rains lashed the Sinnar, Wavi, Yeola and Satana tehsils of Nashik district on Saturday and Sunday, causing damage to several houses and damaging crops and onion storage sheds, the police said.

In the last 24 hours, Nashik’s Igatpuri taluka received 76 mm rain, Baglan-25 mm, Chandwad-24 mm, Trimbakeshwar-15 mm, Nandgaon-10 mm, and Malegaon, Sinnar and Nashik got five mm each, according to figures provided by the district collector’s office.

Moradabad bore the maximum brunt of the storm, with as many as 7 deaths reported from the district, followed by three deaths in Sambhal.
The state was swept by three major dust storms last month that left over 130 people dead.

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh was hit by another deadly dust storm that claimed 17 lives and left 11 persons injured on Friday evening. A UP government spokesperson on Saturday said that most of the deaths were caused due to falling of trees and house collapse.

Moradabad bore the maximum brunt of the storm, with as many as seven deaths reported from the district, followed by three deaths from Sambhal, the state government spokesperson said.

Two deaths were reported each from Badaun, Muzaffarnagar and Meerut, while one death was reported from Amroha, he said. Five persons were injured in Amroha, three in Moradabad, two in Muzaffarnagar and one in Badaun.

The state government has directed all district magistrates to distribute relief within 24 hours. The state was swept by three major dust storms last month that left over 130 people dead.

On May 13, 39 people died in various districts including Bareilly, Barabanki, Bulandshahr and Lakhimpur Khiri districts. On May 9, a severe storm left 18 dead and 27 others injured. Five people died in Etawah district, three each in Mathura, Aligarh and Agra, two in Firozabad and one each in Hathras and Kanpur Dehat.

Thunderstorms and lightning on May 2-3 left 80 dead in the state, most of them in Agra district in the western part of the state.

The coast, which was battered by heavy rain during this week, is heaving a sigh of relief as the rain fury has subsided. The meteorological department said that the city received 29 cm rainfall during the 24-hour period ending with 10 am on Wednesday May 30. Rainfall in other taluks during this period was also considerably less, with Udupi recording second highest rainfall of 17 cm.

The department stated that monsoon has entered Kerala coast and it is likely to enter Karnataka on Thursday or Friday. In the meantime, an area of depression has formed over Arabian Sea and resultantly, Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada districts are expected to get heavy rainfall in the coming days.

On Tuesday, normal rainfall was reported from various parts of the district with intermittent drizzle and cloudy weather in most areas. On Wednesday, rainfall continued to be average, although the possibility of heavy rainfall was predicted. Relief vehicles from nearby districts like Shivamogga, Kodagu, and Hassan were summoned to the district to help the district administration and police to manage the situation.

Schools and colleges remained closed on Wednesday. As per a survey, the rain inflicted loss of over Rs 20 crore in Dakshina Kannada district. Relief work like clearing of drains and clogged roads were undertaken on Wednesday by district administration and city corporation. Backhoes were used to clear areas where artificial floods have wreaked havoc. Buses, both private and government, moved about normally. There was no problem on national highways 75 and 66. Flight and train operations returned to normalcy.

MP, Nalin Kumar Kateel, district deputy commissioner, Sasikanth Senthil, MLA, Vedavyasa Kamath, city mayor, Bhaskar and others visited various areas hit by the heavy rain and guided relief operations.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has carried out twin “bambi bucket” operations in Mata Vaishnodevi hills in Jammu and Kashmir and Pathankot hills of Punjab to douse major fires, an official said today.

“A major forest fire broke out in the hills of Mata Vaishnodevi shrine (in Katra in Reasi district) from May 23, which halted the yatra. More than 20,000 pilgrims were stuck at various places along the track due to major fire”, Defence Spokesman Col N N Joshi said.

Air Force Station Udhampur was requested by the civil administration to contain the situation and secure life and property, he said adding that helicopters based at Air Force Station Udhampur were immediately pressed into action.

“The helicopters were equipped with under slung water buckets which can carry water up to 4,500 litres. In aviation terminology, these are known as bambi buckets”, he said. A bambi bucket is essentially a collapsible bucket utilizing a pilot control valve that can deliver a concentrated column of water from the helicopter to the fire, he added.

The development of bambi bucket has been a breakthrough development after feedback from helicopter operators and forest and land management agencies. The spokesman said that two helicopters were immediately launched for humanitarian operations at shrine hill and helicopters collected the water from Chenab river near Reasi and precise drop was carried at new track between Ardh Kunwari & Bhavan.

It was a daunting task keeping in mind the high ridges of Trikuta hill, high tension cables and challenging terrains, he said. The operations at Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine was started on May 23 and continued till May 27. On May 28, another fire engulfed the Garh Mata Mandir in Pathankot in Punjab, posing a major threat to life of pilgrims and nearby habitants, the spokesman said.

On request of the district administration Pathankot, Air Force Station Udhampur responded and launched another helicopter operation equipped with Bambi bucket, the spokesman said. As there were no standard helipads near the water body, the helicopter had to operate from remote location near Ranjit Sagar of Thein dam. The continuous operations by helicopter crews resulted in controlling of forest fire at the pilgrimage, he added.

The operations towards containing fire at Garh Mata Mandir started on May 27 and was completed by May 28. A total of 10 sorties were flown towards containing the fire, he added. “Such operations are high risk operations considering challenging terrains, steep ridges, obstruction posed by high tension cables, poor visibility due to excessive smoke and turbulence”, he said.

The spokesman said that effective co-ordination between Air Force Station Udhampur and civil administration both at Katra and Pathankot led to swift response from the Indian Air Force towards containment of fire within a short time.

All schools and colleges across coastal Karnataka’s Dakshina Kannada district will remain shut on Wednesday and Thursday as heavy rains disrupt normal life, said an official.

“We have advised all state-run and private schools and colleges across the district to remain closed for two days as a safety measure due to heavy rains flooding roads and localities in the district,” Deputy Commissioner Sasikant Sentil told reporters here, about 350km from state capital Bengaluru.

A record 40mm rainfall on Tuesday in the port city of Manganluru inundated several areas, including roads and housing colonies and commercial hubs due to storm-water drains overflowing and garbage blocking their movement.

“Though the south-west monsoon is set to enter the state in the next two days, a cyclonic storm, low pressure and strong surface winds have brought moderate to heavy rains in the coastal areas since Monday,” a weather official told IANS.

Forecasting rain or thundershowers over the next two days in the coastal districts and south interior areas due to favouring conditions, the official said fishermen have been advised not to venture into the Arabian Sea and tourists were told to stay away from beaches facing high tides.

“Took stock of the situation in Dakshina Kannada due to heavy rains since Tuesday across the coastal district and directed the administration to take assistance of the coast guard to prevent loss of life and mitigate hardship,” tweeted state Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy from Bengaluru.

Pre-monsoon rains were also reported from Udupi, Honnavar, Agumbe, Karwar in the coastal region, Belagavi, Hubballi-Dharwad and Gadag, affecting movement of people and goods and causing damage to crops.

The India Meteorological Department has forecasted squally weather in parts of Lakshadweep, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The sweltering weather is likely to persist in parts of West Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh and Delhi.
Over 30 people were killed on Tuesday after thunderstorms struck parts of Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh. Heavy rain will also lash parts of Kerala as the Southwest Monsoon further advances in the state. Fishermen have been advised not to venture out to sea along coasts of Kerala and Karnataka today and tomorrow.

The India Meteorological Department (Met Dept) said that the Monsoon hit the Kerala coast on May 29, three days ahead of its normal date. Skymet, a private weather agency, meanwhile, marked the arrival of Monsoon in the state on Monday.

The Met Dept has forecasted squally weather in parts of Lakshadweep, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The Monsoon has also further advanced into parts of Southeast Arabian Sea, Maldives, Comorin areas and southwest Bay of Bengal, parts of Andaman and Nicobar islands.

Meanwhile, heatwave conditions are expected to continue across North India. The sweltering weather is likely to persist in parts of West Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh and Delhi.

Nine people were killed and over five others injured after a thunderstorm struck some parts of Uttar Pradesh, a state government spokesman said on Tuesday.

Of the nine victims, five were from Unnao district. They were struck by lightning on Monday night, the Relief Commissioner official said.

The other four deaths were reported from Rae Bareli and Kanpur rural.

“Concerned district magistrates have been asked to ensure prompt relief and see to it that the financial assistance to the injured and the victims’ families get compensation in 24 hours,” the official told IANS.

The Regional Met Office has predicted muggy weather and dust storms in some parts of central and eastern Uttar Pradesh in the next 24 hours. There has been rains in some parts of the state as well.

In a maiden effort, researchers have mapped the plant diversity of the Sikkim Himalayas on the basis of geography and climate data, to create a �geodiversity index that can serve as a tool for biodiversity conservation and disaster risk reduction.

The �geodiversity index map’ of flora of Sikkim in the eastern Himalayas would also enable resource managers and conservationists to assess the number of species according to altitude, to understand the nature of environmental change in the region and how the plant species are adapting to the change.

“Geodiversity data acts as a surrogate for overall biodiversity. If you conserve high geodiversity areas, then you are conserving high biodiversity areas as well. Areas of high geodiversity and environmental heterogeneity tend to support high biological diversity,” Raunaq Jahan, the lead author of the study (and creators of the index), told Mongabay-India. The study is published as part of the �Sustainable Development Goals Series’ book series.

Culling data from published flora of Bhutan and Sikkim, the researchers produced a database of 5,417 plant species. This database incorporates information on family, habitat, location according to altitude, district and community affiliations.

“If you know the spatial distribution (spread) of high geodiversity areas then you can plan the extent of your conservation areas,” Jahan who is associated with the Institute of Geography, University of Hamburg, Germany, and the department of geography and environment, Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh explained, referring to the importance of Sikkim’s location and biodiversity.

Given that healthy and well-managed ecosystems reduce disaster risk by acting as natural buffers or protective barriers, preserving and managing sites that have a rich biodiversity (high geodiversity area) may diminish disaster risks, particularly for locations such as Sikkim.

Noting that natural hazards threaten geoconservation in Sikkim, the study suggests that high geodiversity areas could be taken as high priority areas in terms of reducing disaster risk.

“Deforestation can create a constant risk of landslides or other disasters in hilly regions and this should be banned for high biodiversity areas in Sikkim,” the study said.

Nestled in the Himalayas, the thumb-shaped state of Sikkim is bound by Nepal in the west and Bhutan in the southeast. Mt. Khangchendzonga (also spelled Kanchenjunga), world’s third highest peak, is located along Sikkim’s border with Nepal.

It is India’s least populous state, covering just 0.2 percent of the geographical area of India but is home to significant biodiversity.

Identified as one of the biodiversity hotspots in the eastern Himalayas, the state is endowed with rich floral and faunal diversity. The state is a repository of over 5,000 species of plants including 557 species of orchids and 11 oak species as also 28 bamboo species.

At the same time, Sikkim is situated in a high-risk area with regards to earthquakes and landslides and is considered one of the most disaster prone regions of India, according to Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority.

The study shows that highest species diversity at 5,581 is recorded at a height between 500 metres and 2000 metres. Beyond 2000 metres, number of species starts to dip as the altitude goes up in the Sikkim Himalayas. Between 5500 metres and 6000 metres, only 24 species are found.

The variation in flora with altitude ties in nicely with the geodiversity range observed across Sikkim.

For example, in the geodiversity index, the Khangchendzonga National Park (KNP), a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the �mixed’ category, is placed at the bottom, signifying low geodiversity.

It has an elevation spanning 1,829 metres to over 8550 metres. Mt. Khangchendzonga towers over the landscape with its peak at 8,586 metres.

The altitudinal range of the national park reflects the plunge in floral varieties.

The low geodiversity rank is attributed to the 17 glaciers, snowfields, 19 mountains and peaks and rocky wastes dotting the park. “Very high altitude, slope, temperature, precipitation are not in favour of high geodiversity index,” Jahan explained.

However, the forest of western and northern part of Mangan city (in North District) at an elevation of around 956 meters shows higher biological richness and ranks higher in the geodiversity index.

“If we compare these areas with the elevation, we can see that the elevation range from 1,700 metres to 3000 metres has high geodiversity as well as high biological richness. This high biological richness area consists of forest cover, alpine scrub, grass and scrub, glacial moraines and screes,” the study states.

The capital city of Gangtok, which is located in the middle of the East District and is the main urban settlement surrounded by agricultural fields, shows low to moderate geodiversity.

In the West District, the northern areas have high to very high biological diversity as also high geodiversity.

The geodiversity calculation for Sikkim was satisfactory because its distribution almost matches the spatial distribution of biological richness mapped by the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, the study said.

To integrate geodiversity with biodiversity, the researchers recommend combining the map with disaster-prone areas of Sikkim and take proper management action to reduce the risk of disaster for biologically rich areas.

In addition to enhancing knowledge on the areas of high-risk areas and high geodiversity areas, the study advises scientifically identifying the main causes of vulnerability to natural and manmade disasters in Sikkim. Further, it recommends raising awareness among local communities on geodiversity and biodiversity to protect from potential natural disasters.

“Kanchenjungha is already a protected area, so the design and management of the conservation of geodiverse, heterogeneous landscapes should therefore enhance biodiversity resilience and sustain abiotic and ecological processes,” Jahan said.

(IANS will be carrying occasional articles in arrangement with Mongabay.com, a source for environmental news reporting and analysis. The name Mongabay comes from an island in Madagascar. The views expressed in the article are those of Mongabay.com. Feedback: gopi@mongabay.com)