Incessant rains drench Mumbai; civic teams mobilised

Mumbai, Sep 28 (PTI) Mumbai witnessed incessant rains with intermittent heavy spells on Sunday, prompting the city civic body to swiftly mobilise emergency response teams across the city.

Some of the western suburbs recorded more than 50 mm rainfall in five hours from 8 am to 1 pm, as per data shared by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

Local train services of the Central Railway and Western Railway were running with some delays, while buses of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking were plying without any diversion, as per officials.

"There is a likelihood of water accumulation in low-lying areas due to intense rainfall in the city and suburbs. All necessary measures have been taken, and the machinery is actively working on-site," the BMC said in a statement.

All the pumps (to drain out water) have been activated round-the-clock in low-lying areas as a precautionary measure to prevent waterlogging, it said.

The civic body said there was no major waterlogging in low-lying areas anywhere in the city and suburbs.

Despite the ongoing downpour, vehicular and rail traffic remained largely unaffected, with smooth movement reported from key underpasses and junctions, including Hindmata, Gandhi Market, Chunabhatti, and Malad, Dahisar and Mankhurd underpasses, the statement said.

The civic body's storm water drain department was maintaining a constant vigil to pump out the accumulated water in low-lying areas, it said.

As per data shared by BMC, the island city recorded an average rainfall of 47.47 mm, while the western and eastern suburbs received 53.61 mm and 37.92 mm rain, respectively, during the five hours from 8 am to 1 pm.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Saturday issued a 'red alert', predicting "heavy to very heavy" rainfall in Mumbai on Sunday.

It has predicted a cloudy sky with heavy to very heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorm/lightning and gusty winds reaching 40-50 kmph in the city and suburbs, as per a civic official.

There was a "possibility of extremely heavy rain at isolated places," according to the weather department.

In the 24 hours ending at 8.30 am on Sunday, the Colaba observatory (representative of the island city) recorded 120.8 mm of rainfall, while the Santacruz observatory (representing the suburbs) registered 83.8 mm of rains.

Among the prominent areas, Juhu reported 88 mm rainfall, Bandra 82.5 mm and Mahalaxmi 28 mm during the period, as per the IMD.

There will be a high tide of 3.24 metres at 2.55 pm and a low tide of 1.31 metres at 8.50 pm, an official said.

Heavy rain coupled with high tide leads to waterlogging in low-lying areas, while low tide helps in speedy water receding.

The IMD has also sounded a 'red alert' for neighbouring Raigad, Thane and Palghar districts on Sunday. PTI KK ND GK