Mumbai wakes up to brief respite after heavy rain; IMD issues red alert for more showers

Heavy rain continued to batter Mumbai and nearby regions as the IMD retained a red alert, warning of extremely heavy showers. Widespread flooding, transport delays, landslides and civic disruptions were reported, while authorities urged residents to avoid unnecessary travel and remain vigilant 

Mumbai: Heavy overnight rain lashed Mumbai and neighbouring cities, easing slightly by morning even as the IMD on Sunday kept a red alert in place with forecasts of continued downpours and isolated extremely heavy showers, civic officials said.

In view of the forecast, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has appealed to people to remain alert and venture outdoors only if absolutely necessary.

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Several areas recorded more than 200 mm of rainfall, while a few areas logged a whopping 300 mm of downpour in the last 24 hours.

Officials said public transport services, including Metro and buses of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking, were operating normally this morning, while commuters complained that suburban railway services were running with some delays.

The BMC urged people to strictly follow advisories and contact the civic body’s helpline 1916 for immediate assistance in case of any emergency.

It also advised citizens to exercise caution, particularly in low-lying areas and along the coastline, as a high tide of 4.19 metres is expected at 3.22 pm on Sunday. Another high tide of 3.51 metres is forecast at 3.41 am on Monday.

Torrential downpours battered Mumbai on Saturday, with several parts of the city receiving nearly 200 mm of rainfall in 12 hours, inundating low-lying areas, triggering road cave-ins, tree falls and house collapses, and disrupting road and rail traffic.

Incessant rains also disrupted normal life in neighbouring Thane, Palghar, Navi Mumbai as well as the Pune region that witnessed landslides, road closures in waterlogged areas and evacuation of people from flooded localities.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for Sunday, predicting very heavy rainfall at a few places and extremely heavy rain at isolated locations, civic officials said.

It has also forecast occasional gusty winds reaching 55-65 kmph over the city and suburbs, they said.

BMC’s network of automatic rain gauges recorded more than 200 mm of rainfall at several locations across Mumbai during the 24 hours ending at 8 am on Sunday, with a couple of places receiving over 300 mm.

The highest rainfall of 310.6 mm was recorded at the Building Proposal Office in Vikhroli West, followed by Colaba Pumping Station (306.6 mm) and Tagore Nagar Municipal School in Vikhroli (301.8 mm).

Areas receiving more than 200 mm included Malabar Hill, Mandavi Fire Station, Colaba, Memonwada Fire Station, Vikhroli Fire Station, Paspoli Municipal School in Powai, Bhandup Complex, Andheri Fire Station, Chakala Municipal School, Jogeshwari and Aarey Colony in Goregaon, according to BMC data.

On Saturday, suburban services on both Central Railway and Western Railway were hit due to submerged tracks at different locations for some time in the afternoon, while metro services on line 2A were affected due to a technical snag.