Mumbai: Mumbai woke up to moderate to heavy showers on Wednesday, a day after torrential rains brought the city and its suburbs to a grinding halt. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for Mumbai on August 20, warning of heavy rainfall, but added that the intensity of showers is likely to reduce from Thursday, August 21.
The IMD issued a red alert for Raigad and the ghat sections of Pune district for Wednesday, while Thane, Palghar, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg remain under an orange alert. With the possibility of fresh heavy spells, civic authorities remain on high alert.
Rains Wreak Havoc A Day Ago
On Tuesday, relentless rains battered Mumbai, its extended suburbs, and adjoining townships, once again exposing the city’s struggle with its annual monsoon challenge. Roads across several low-lying areas turned into virtual rivers, disrupting traffic and daily life. Train services, the city’s lifeline, were severely hit, with Central and Harbour railway operations suspended for several hours due to flooding on tracks and poor visibility.
According to Central Railway (CR), suburban services between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and Thane resumed only at 7:28 pm on Tuesday, with the first train departing from CSMT to Thane. The UP slow line track was declared safe around 8:15 pm, followed by a train leaving from Kurla to CSMT at 8:36 pm. A special local from Kurla to Panvel departed at 8:55 pm.
Local Trains Back On Track, Although With Delays
By Wednesday morning, local train services across Central, Harbour and Western lines were back on track, though commuters reported delays of 20-25 minutes during the morning rush. Divisional Railway Manager- Mumbai Division of Western Railway shared a list of local train cancellations for services on Western Railway line between 3:40 am to 6:25 am. A total of 17 local train services were cancelled today due to waterlogging issues.
No major waterlogging or traffic disruption was reported as of early morning as the city has been healing from the havoc caused a day ago. Traffic congestion was reported at certain spots on the Western Express Highway, but was not attributed to inconvenience caused due to rains.
6 Deaths Reported So Far In State
The Maharashtra Disaster Management Department reported that six people lost their lives in rain and flood-related incidents across the state in the last 24 hours. In Nanded district, five people were reported missing after a flood-like situation. To tackle emergencies, 18 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and six teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have been deployed in vulnerable areas.
The downpour also impacted air travel. IndiGo airlines issued a travel advisory warning of possible air traffic congestion and delays in Mumbai due to weather conditions. The airline urged passengers to check flight statuses before leaving for the airport and to account for longer travel times because of waterlogging and traffic snarls across the city.
