Heavy rains cripple Mumbai; forecast says worse yet to come

Heavy rains pound Mumbai, flights and trains delayed, traffic comes to standstill and road caves in

Mumbai Rains have crossed the 200 mm mark in 24 hours. In the last 24 hours from 8.30 am on Sunday, Santa Cruz recorded 231 mm of rains.

The Meteorological Department has issued Orange Alert. It is supposed to be a preparation signal for the administration and citizens, while Red is an instruction for vigil and action. The weather agency forecasts heavy to very heavy rainfall for the rest of June in Mumbai and adjoining areas.

Heavy rains lashed the metropolis and Thane district throughout the night and continued this morning, causing water-logging at several places and slowing the movement of suburban trains, thus causing inconvenience to office-goers and school children.

The heavy showers are due to a cyclonic circulation over north Konkan and adjoining south Gujarat. More rain is expected this week, with heavy to very heavy rain on June 27 and 28 in parts of north Konkan, including Mumbai.

Four people have died in Mumbai and adjoining areas since yesterday. Civic officials have placed pumps on stand-by as many low-lying areas in the city reported waterlogging.

A huge part of a compound wall in a residential complex in Antop Hill in Wadala, south Mumbai, collapsed due to the heavy showers. Around 15 cars were damaged with some vehicles getting buried under the debris. The civic body and the fire department have vacated an entire wing of the Lloyds Estate. No casualties have been reported.
 

Owing to the heavy showers, several parts of the city, like Dharavi, Sion, Matunga, Hindmata, Malad, Kurla, Andheri subway, Bhandup, Worli and Lower Parel, were flooded with water up to two to three feet, and vehicles got stuck in some places.

The Western Railway in a tweet said, "Western Railway suburban trains are running with no disruption. There is slight delay due to low visibility in some areas due to rains." Certain diversions were made due to water-logging on few routes of bus services of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST).

According to the UN, India on average suffers an economic loss of US$7 billion each year because of incessant rains, floods. As Mumbai is India's richest city with total wealth of $82 billion, according to the New World Wealth report, questions have been raised about why the city was unsuitably prepared to cope with the rains.