Mumbai Rains: 200 mm Downpour Floods Low-Lying Areas, Disrupts Rail Services; IMD Issues Orange Alert

Mumbai, July 1: Heavy rains continued to batter Mumbai on Wednesday, with several areas recording above 200 mm of rainfall in a span of 24 hours. Several low-lying areas in Andheri, Kurla, Matunga, Parel, Bhandup, Powai and other parts of the city were flooded, impacting the suburban rail network and vehicular traffic.

However, despite the intensity of the downpour, the traffic police managed to keep vehicles moving in most areas. Said Dadar resident V.G. Menon: "The traffic police and the BMC deserve to be lauded for putting their best foot forward."

As per the BMC, along with heavy rainfall throughout the day, there was a high tide of 4.16 metres at 1.10 pm, leading to waterlogging in several areas of the eastern and western suburbs. However, the rainwater was drained out with the help of local pumping stations, dewatering pumps and manpower.

Rail And Road Traffic Affected

Central Railway cancelled 70 suburban services, including those on the Main, Harbour and Trans-Harbour lines, while nine local train services were cancelled on the Western line. Local train services ran 10 to 20 minutes behind schedule.

Railway officials said train services on the Harbour line towards CSMT were briefly affected in the evening after an overhead power wire developed a fault near Nerul at 4.52 pm. Railway staff restored the power supply by 5.45 pm, following which train services across the network resumed.

Speaking on the road traffic snarls, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Satyanarayan Choudhari said traffic across the city was being managed effectively through the strategic deployment of personnel and close coordination with the civic authorities.

"Traffic Police are working in coordination with the BMC to ensure smooth vehicular movement and minimise congestion. The counter-flow lanes on the Western and Eastern Express Highways were activated as and when required, depending on the traffic situation and vehicle density on the roads," he added.

Heavy Rainfall Alert Continues

The intense rain spells are expected to continue for the next four days, as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall for Mumbai and its neighbouring districts.

For Mumbai, an Orange Alert has been sounded for heavy to extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places till July 5, while a Red Alert has been sounded for Palghar and Thane districts for July 2 and July 4, respectively.

The weather stations that recorded the highest rainfall during the 24-hour period (Tuesday, 8 pm to Wednesday, 8 pm) included Maharashtra Nagar, Mankhurd (217 mm); Tagore Nagar, Vikhroli (200 mm); Paspoli, Powai (182 mm); Nariyalwadi, Santacruz (180 mm); and Malpa Dongri, Andheri (182 mm), among others.

Also Watch:

IMD Mumbai, in its press statement on Wednesday evening, warned of widespread rainfall activity with heavy to very heavy rainfall over a few places and extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places over Konkan and the adjoining ghat areas of Madhya Maharashtra, Marathwada and the Vidarbha region during the period July 1-7.

Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea during this period. The weather department has also advised citizens to take preventive measures as there is a possibility of localised flooding in urban areas.

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