Heavy rains lashing Mumbai overnight led to waterlogging in many parts of the metropolis on Wednesday, prompting disruption of road and rail traffic, officials said.
IMAGE: A man pushes a taxi through a waterlogged road after heavy rainfall in Mumbai. Photograph: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters
Rains across the island city and the western suburbs picked up late on Tuesday evening.
There were intense spells across Mumbai for a few hours overnight, an official said.
On Wednesday morning, public transport services were hit and normal life affected in the financial capital due to heavy downpour and waterlogging.
SEE: Mumbai’s Nair Hospital flooded
Several streets and low-lying areas were waterlogged due to overnight rains and the road traffic was also badly hit, a civic official said. Some vehicles broke down in th water, affecting the traffic movement, he added.
Mumbai’s municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal has asked that all offices and establishments in the city, barring essential services, be shut on Wednesday due to the downpour and IMD’s forecast of “heavy to very heavy rains” in the city.
A Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation release said Chahal has also appealed Mumbaikars not to step out of their homes, unless it is an emergency.
IMAGE: People push a bus through a waterlogged road after heavy rainfall in Mumbai. Photograph: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters
A Central Railway spokesperson said suburban services were suspended at 5 am on Wednesday following heavy rains along the tracks.
“Due to heavy rain and waterlogging in Sion-Kurla and Chunabhatti-Kurla, traffic has been suspended on CSMT-Thane and CSMT-Vashi sections for safety reasons,” he said.
Special shuttle services are being run between Thane-Kasara, Thane-Karjat and Vashi-Panvel stations, while several long distance trains have been rescheduled, he said.
Suburban trains, considered the lifeline of Mumbai, are being operated for essential services employees due to COVID-19 outbreak and common citizens are not authorised to travel in them as of now.
SEE: Passengers stranded at Sion railway station in Mumbai on Tuesday evening due to heavy downpour
A civic official said the public bus service of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport has also been hit due to waterlogged streets, and traffic diverted at several locations.
The India Meteorological Department had issued an orange alert with a forecast of heavy rainfall at some places in Mumbai and Thane during the day.
Mumbai received one of the highest showers in the last 24 hours of this monsoon season and more rainfall is likely in the city and suburbs on Wednesday, MeT officials said.
The Santacruz observatory (in western suburbs) received 286.4 mm showers during the 24-hour period ending at 8.30 am on Wednesday, which is the fourth highest rainfall in the Maharashtra capital’s history, another IMD official said.
The Colaba observatory (in south Mumbai) recorded 147.8 mm rainfall during the same period.
SEE: Waterlogging at Mumbai’s King Circle area
As per IMD Mumbai’s record of Santacruz observatory since 1974, it reported 318.2 mm rainfall in 24 hours on September 23, 1981, 312.4 mm rainfall on September 23, 1993 and 303.7 mm rainfall on September 20, 2017.
“Today’s rainfall of 286.4 mm is the fourth highest between 1974 and 2020,” the official said.
IMAGE: A woman wearing a protective mask wades through a waterlogged road after heavy rainfall in Mumbai. Photograph: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters
Several parts of Mumbai received more than 120 mm rainfall in the last 24 hours, the MeT department said.
The Ram Mandir area received 298 mm rainfall, while Dahisar received 190 mm rainfall during the period.
“Most of the rainfall in Mumbai was received afterlate Tuesday night,” the official said.
Since June 1 this year, the Santacruz observatory has so far recorded 3,571.1 mm downpour, while the Colaba observatory has recorded 3,147.3 mm rainfall during the period, the official said.