Heavy pre-monsoon rains lashed Mumbai, flooding several areas and disrupting flights, trains and power supply, while worst was still to come with the weather department warning of ‘extremely heavy rains’ over the weekend.
Several trains were delayed as many were reportedly forced to wait as power supply was disrupted. Trains were running late by 15-20 minutes on the Mumbra Thane line. A Jet Airways flight from London was diverted to Ahmedabad, reports said on Thursday.
Flooded roads were reported from Dadar, Parel, Cuff Parade, Bandra, Borivali and Andheri. Disaster management authorities warned about very heavy rainfall over the next 24 hours.
The BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) said in a statement that a number of precautionary measures had been taken and the leaves of senior officials, including deputy municipal commissioners and assistant commissioners, have been cancelled.
These are pre-monsoon showers. Monsoon, which has currently reached south Goa, is expected to reach Mumbai in the next 48 to 72 hours, the IMD said.
The Indian Meteorological Department warned of rain and thunder across Mumbai over the next 24 hours and has advised residents to stay indoors.
The Met department’s colour-coded weather warning has indicated Konkan and central Maharashtra in ‘red’ on June 8 and June 9, respectively.
Red signifies ‘warning’ which indicates take action, while orange, yellow and green signify ‘alert’, ‘watch’ and ‘no warning’.
Officials said that warnings in red are indicative of severe weather conditions, and in this case, extremely heavy rainfall.
The weather bureau also issued an ‘extremely heavy’ rainfall alert for the city from June 9 to 11 (Saturday to Monday), and has asked citizens to stay indoors as much as possible on these three days.
Under the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) classification, 15.6mm to 64.4mm of rainfall in 24 hours is considered moderate, 64.5mm to 115.5mm is heavy, 115.6mm to 204.4mm is very heavy and more than 204.5mm qualities as extreme.
“Widespread rainfall activity with over 75% of weather stations reporting heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely over south Konkan and Goa from June 7 onwards. Weather systems will gradually extend over north Konkan, including Mumbai, from Friday onwards, and continue till June 12 [Tuesday],” KS Hosalikar, deputy director general, western region, IMD was quoted as saying by media reports.
“Between Saturday and Monday, the maximum intensity of rainfall is expected over Mumbai and the surrounding areas, with heavy to very heavy rain; the possibility of extremely heavy rainfall in isolated areas cannot be ruled out,” said reports quoting the official.
The advisory released by the IMD reads: “Active to vigorous monsoon conditions are likely to prevail, leading to persistent very heavy rainfall along the west coast, especially between June 10 and 11. In view of intense rainfall forecast, people are advised to abstain from outdoor activities as much as possible during the period and also watch for weather updates from Regional Meteorological Centre, Mumbai.”
Heavy to very heavy rainfall is also forecast in central Maharashtra between Thursday and Friday, as well as heavy showers in some parts of Marathwada and Vidarbha, the weather bureau said.
On monsoon’s progress, the weather department said it reached the Goa and Konkan coast today (Thursday, June 7). On the weekend, rain is expected in Gujarat, southern Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.
The BMC said it has taken a number of precautionary measures to tackle any eventuality in view of extremely heavy rainfall warning by the India IMD from June 9 to 11.
Officials equipped with walkie-talkies and flood rescue supplies have spread out across Mumbai.
Three teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) will be pre-positioned at Parel, Mankhurd Fire Station and Andheri Sports Complex with walkie-talkies and flood rescue equipment.
Navy personnel are being posted at areas like Colaba, Worli, Ghatkopar, Trombay, Malad for flood rescue, according to news agency PTI.
The Mumbai Fire Brigade’s six flood rescue teams have also been directed to remain pre-positioned at the fire brigade’s regional command centers in Byculla, Mankhurd and Borivali.
Officers have been asked to keep schools open at all times for shelter during possible flooding.
Mumbai faced its worst civic nightmare when in 2005, a single day of rain left thousands dead in Maharashtra.