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Rediff.com  » News » Heavy rains cripple Mumbai; more downpour expected on Tuesday

Heavy rains cripple Mumbai; more downpour expected on Tuesday

Source: PTI
Last updated on: July 10, 2018 00:07 IST
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It is the highest rainfall of the season so far in 24 hours.

IMAGE: People push a BEST bus after it gets struck on a water-logged street after heavy rainfall at Parel, in Mumbai. Photograph: PTI Photo

Heavy rains lashed Mumbai and its neighbouring areas on Monday, flooding streets and badly affecting life in the city where nearly 90 train services on the suburban network were cancelled.

 

A 43-year-old woman riding a motorcycle as a pillion was crushed by a bus after the two-wheeler hit a water-logged pothole in Thane district of Maharashtra. 

IMAGE: Waterlogged tracks between Sion and Matunga. Photograph: Sahil Salvi/Rediff.com

Around 300 people were stuck in their homes in Vasai town of the adjoining Palghar district due to waterlogging in the area.

However, they refused to be evacuated even as the water level receded. 

IMAGE: Commuters ride past pot-holes filled road after heavy rainfall. Photograph: Mitesh Bhuvad/PTI Photo

The residents preferred to stay in their homes instead of relocating to some temporary shelter in response to the district administration's appeal for evacuation, a district information officer said.

Some of them accepted food packets given by the administration, he said.

IMAGE: Why walk when you can swim! A boy swims through a water-logged street in central Mumbai's Sion area. Photograph: Sahil Salvi/Rediff.com

"We have kept an ambulance near their homes as a precautionary measure," the officer said.

The rainfall of 170 mm (recorded in Colaba observatory for the Mumbai city) from 8.30 am on Sunday morning till 8.30 am on Monday was the highest in a 24-hour period during the current monsoon season, Metereological department's deputy director general K S Hosalikar said.

IMAGE: A man pushes his scooter as another rides his motorcycle through a waterlogged street. Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters

From 8.30 am to 5.30 pm on Monday, the Colaba observatory recorded a rainfall of 104.8 mm.

The Santacruz observatory, which records rainfall for suburban Mumbai, reported the downpour of 122 mm during the 24-hour period from 8.30 am on Sunday and 75 mm from 8.30 am to 5.30 pm on Monday.

IMAGE: A mother lifts her child up in the arms as she wades through knee-deep water. Photograph: PTI Photo

The rainfall slowed down the pace of the financial capital, which is heavily dependent on local train services.

Though the intensity of showers receded as the day progressed, it took longer time for the city traffic to revert to its pace.

IMAGE: A car struggles to move forward on the water-logged roads in Thane. Photograph: PTI Photo

The rainfall caused traffic jams as many roads and streets in the metropolis were flooded and people were seen wading through knee-deep water.

As many as 87 local services on the Central and Western Railway were cancelled due to the heavy rains, said officials.

IMAGE: Waterlogging in Dadar in Mumbai on Monday morning. Photograph: Sahil Salvi/Rediff.com

Vehicles on many roads were seen crawling because of the rainfall and low visibility.

Potholes compounded the problem.

Schools and colleges in Mumbai were shut while the Mumbai University said examinations will be rescheduled for students who could not appear for it on Monday.

IMAGE: Vehicles wade through water-logged streets after heavy rainfall in Mumbai. Photograph: PTI Photo

There was heavy water-logging in Mumbai's central areas of Kurla, Sion and Dadar. Mira Road (in adjoining Thane district), and Nallasopara and Vasai (in Palghar district) were largely affected due to the heavy showers.

Train services of the Central Railway and Western Railway were slightly delayed due to water-logging on rail tracks in some places, officials said.

IMAGE: People wade through knee-deep water at Hindmata area in Dadar. Photograph: Sahil Salvi/Rediff.com

Some long-distance trains to Gujarat and northern states were halted at Borivali as tracks near Nallasopara and Virar were submerged. The trains left after a delay of about one hour, a spokesperson of the Western Railway said.

Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport buses were slightly delayed, but no service was cancelled or suspended, a BEST spokesperson said.

IMAGE: Men try to remove water that has filled up in their house in Dadar (East). Photograph: Sahil Salvi/Rediff.com

The city's neighbouring areas got even more rains, and roads were submerged.

Visibility at the Mumbai airport was "not very good" but flights were operating according to schedule, an MeT official said, adding no warning has been issued for the aviation sector so far.

IMAGE: Western Railway deployed pumps to clear flooded tracks at several stations. Photograph: @WesternRailway/Twitter

The meteorological department has forecast more heavy rains in Mumbai on Tuesday.

IMAGE: People wade through a waterlogged street. Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters

Hosalikar said the intensity of rains in the city's neighbouring districts of Palghar, Raigad and some parts in the south Konkan region was even more "vigorous" with these areas receiving 200 mm rainfall since Sunday.

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