Books damaged due to the flash floods in Bengaluru (Express photo). Evenings at Bengaluru’s iconic Bookworm bookstore usually find the staff and proprietor navigating the quiet bustle of a city of avid readers. But this Thursday, the atmosphere was one of urgent damage control. After a record-breaking 111.5 mm of rainfall lashed the city on Wednesday, the beloved Church Street landmark is mourning the loss of thousands of books, many of them rare and irreplaceable. Located deep within a compound on the main thoroughfare, the store had remained largely insulated from the city’s monsoon woes for over two decades. “We have seen much more rain than this with no issues,” proprietor Krishna Gowda told The Indian Express. “But for the first time there were huge hailstones, which blocked the movement of water in our building.” Within just 40 minutes of the storm’s start, water surged in from the backyard, flooding the premises to a depth of nearly a foot.…