Mumbai records heavy rainfall as IMD issues heavy to very heavy rain alert
Heavy rain continued to lash Mumbai, with several areas recording over 70 mm in five hours. The IMD forecast more intense showers and strong winds, while waterlogging disrupted traffic and authorities confirmed a second rain-related death this week
Mumbai: Incessant rains continued to pound Mumbai on Friday, with several areas recording over 70 mm of downpour in just five hours as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast “heavy to very heavy” showers over the next 24 hours.
According to civic officials, the highest rainfall of 73.8 mm was recorded at Supari Tank Municipal School in Bandra, followed by 72.2 mm in Prabhadevi, 70.8 mm in Bandra West and 69.4 mm in Parel.
The IMD has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall in the city and its suburbs over the next 24 hours, accompanied by gusty winds reaching 50-60 kmph. The city has been witnessing incessant downpour since morning, with occasional spells of heavy rain inundating low-lying areas.
While authorities said services on the Metro, suburban railway and BEST buses were operating normally, commuters reported traffic snarls and delays in local trains.
Mumbai has been getting heavy showers overnight since around Thursday midnight. While low-lying areas like Dadar, Andheri, Goregaon and Parel witnessed waterlogging, the water receded in the morning, said officials.
The intensity of rainfall reduced in the early morning hours, but showers picked up again after 8 am in some parts of Mumbai. According to the BMC, the city recorded over 100 mm of rainfall in 24 hours ending 8 am on Friday. The island city received an average rainfall of 126 mm, while the eastern suburbs recorded 110 mm and the western suburbs 114 mm, it said.
The highest rainfall of 150.2 mm was recorded in the Wadi Bunder area, followed by Malabar Hill (145.8 mm) and Sandhurst Road (140.8 mm).
In the western suburbs, a rain gauge at Malpa Dongari Municipal School in Andheri recorded 136.6 mm of rainfall. The Powai region received 124 mm of rain, the highest in the eastern suburbs, the BMC stated.
Amid heavy rains, a man died after falling into a manhole in Chandivali in the western suburbs on Thursday, in the second rain-related death this week. An 11-year-old boy was killed on Tuesday after a tree fell on his school bus in the eastern suburb of Chembur.
