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Extreme Rains To Continue In Mumbai, Adjoining Areas Till Thursday Morning

On Wednesday, incessant heavy rainfall and strong winds battered Mumbai and neighbouring Thane and Palghar districts.

Cyclists travel along a near-empty Marine Drive in Mumbai, India. (Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg)
Cyclists travel along a near-empty Marine Drive in Mumbai, India. (Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg)

Extremely heavy rains will continue to batter Mumbai and neighbouring areas until Thursday morning, the India Meteorological Department said in a special bulletin.

On Wednesday, incessant heavy rainfall and strong winds battered Mumbai and neighbouring Thane and Palghar districts, disrupting suburban train and bus services. Three high-capacity cranes deployed at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Raigad district collapsed due to gusty winds in the afternoon, but there was no casualty, an official said.

From 8.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m., extremely heavy rainfall (above 20 centimetres) lashed parts of Mumbai. Colaba recorded 22.9 cm while Santacruz recorded 8.8 cm of rainfall, according to IMD.

Wind speed reached 70 kmph and gusted at 107 kmph between 5 p.m. and 5.15 p.m. in Colaba.

"Strong winds with speed reaching 70 kmph along and off the Mumbai and adjoining Konkan coast likely to continue till 6th morning and gradually reduce thereafter. Extremely heavy rainfall is also likely to continue over Mumbai tonight and reduce from tomorrow Aug. 6,” the special bulletin said.

Dahanu in Palghar recorded over 350 mm rainfall in the 12-hour period ending at 5:30 am on Wednesday while some areas in Thane received over 150 mm during the same time, the India Meteorological Department said and predicted more intense showers during the day.

Waterlogging was reported in low lying areas of Chembur, Parel, Hindmata, Wadala and other areas of Mumbai. Train movement on the Western Railway route in Palghar was affected due to heavy rain in the morning. There was "minor disruption" at Palghar from 5:40 a.m. to 7:10 a.m. due to 266 mm rain in two hours and hence, a few trains were regulated en route, Western Railway's Chief Spokesperson Sumit Thakur said.

According to IMD's website, Thane city, Dombivli and Kalyan areas, which are part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, received more than 120 mm rainfall during the same period.

The Pune district also received 59 mm rainfall in the last 24 hours and it is likely to witness moderate to isolated heavy showers in next two days, an IMD official said.

The catchment areas of four dams - Varasgaon, Khadakwasla, Panshet and Temghar which provide water to the city - received good rainfall.

Pune Mayor Murlidhar Mohol said since good rainfall is predicted by the IMD, the city is not likely to face any water cuts till the Ganesh festival, which begins on Aug. 22.

In western Maharashtra, 1,139 cusec water was discharged from Koyna dam, and at least 80 bunds (weir) on the Pancnhganga river in Kolhapur district were submerged, the district administration said.