Heavy Rains Lash Mumbai. Get Ready For More, Says Weatherman

Also Read: Mumbai Rains Live: Situation To Normalise By 10:30 P.M., Says BMC

A few hours of torrential downpour threatened to cripple Mumbai on Tuesday afternoon, as water began to flood many low-lying areas. The city is expected to receive “heavy to very heavy” rains in the next 24 hours, the Met department told BloombergQuint over the phone.

“Colaba has received 15 centimetres of rainfall in the past 24 hours. Santacruz has received 86 millimetres (8.6 cm) during the last three hours,” K Hosalikar, deputy director general (western region) of Indian Meteorological Department said.

The disaster management wing of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, the city’s municipal body, is in touch with the weatherman, Hosalikar said. According to data on the civic body’s website, Mumbai’s coast is expected to be hit by tides as high as 3.23 metres at 4.48 p.m. High tides coupled with heavy rains increase the chances of flooding as excess water doesn’t get drained into the sea.

The local train network, considered Mumbai's lifeline, was affected as tracks were submerged at some stations. “Due to very heavy and continuous rains, CR suburban train services suspended on main line between Parel and Kurla from 1230 hours and on Harbour line between Vadala Road and Kurla from 1220 hours,” the Central Railway tweeted.

Train services run by the Western Railway also suffered disruptions. “Services suspended bet CCG (Churchgate)-Andheri due to heavy water logging. Long distance down trns also held up at Mumbai Central,” it said in a tweet.

In Pictures: Mumbai Reels Under Heavy Rains; Local Trains Disrupted, Commuters Stranded

Responding to messages of a cloudburst doing the rounds on social media, Hosalikar said that Tuesday’s heavy shower is due to a weather phenomenon over south-west Madhya Pradesh which is likely to intensify into a depression. “The depression moving westwards is likely to cross Gujarat by August 31.”

The weather department has also predicted heavy to very heavy rains over North Konkan and Gujarat over the next 24 hours.