Heavy rains in Mumbai; schools, colleges shut as IMD issues red alert

Mumbai: The IMD issued a 'red alert', forecasting extremely heavy rains at isolated places in Mumbai and neighbouring areas on Monday, prompting the city civic body to declare a holiday for all schools and colleges, officials said.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) also appealed to residents to step out only if necessary.

Roads in several areas got inundated after the heavy downpour for the third consecutive day on Monday.

Some low-lying areas like the Andheri Subway and Lokhandwala Complex witnessed water accumulation at a few locations, affecting traffic movement.

Local trains, considered as the lifeline of the metropolis, were running late by 8 to 10 minutes and there was no suspension of services, according to officials.

The suburban services on the Central Railway route were affected as water accumulated on tracks in a few low-lying areas on the Harbour Line, and due to failure of track changing points between Kurla and Tilak Nagar stations, as per the officials.

The blinding rain in some parts of the city affected visibility and slowed down vehicular movement, as per motorists.

There was no diversion of any routes of bus services of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking, the officials said.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red alert for Mumbai, and neighbouring Thane and Raigad districts, forecasting heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places and extremely heavy showers at isolated locations on Monday and Tuesday.

It also issued a red alert for Ratnagiri district on Monday, and an orange alert for Sindhudurg on Monday and Tuesday.

BMC Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani announced that all educational institutions would remain shut for the afternoon session, citing the safety of students amid continuous downpour since morning.

The civic body, in a statement, appealed to the people to step out only if necessary.

It also appealed to residents to contact its disaster control helpline 1916 in case of emergencies or for official updates.

Heavy rains have been lashing Mumbai since Saturday.

After the heavy downpour overnight on Monday, the rain intensity further increased from 9 am, a civic official said.

The island city, eastern and western suburbs recorded an average rainfall of 37 mm, 39 mm and 29 mm, respectively, in just one hour from 9 am.

Chembur in the eastern suburbs recorded the highest rainfall of 65 mm, followed by 50 mm in Shivaji Nagar in the one-hour period, the official said.

In the 24 hours ending at 8 am on Monday, the island city recorded an average rainfall of 54.58 mm, the eastern suburbs received 72.61 mm, while the western suburbs recorded 65.86 mm rain, according to officials.

Several areas recorded more than 100 mm rainfall during the period, they said.