Heavy rains lash Mumbai, Met dept predicts more

Mumbai: Heavy to very heavy have been continuing in Mumbai for the last 48 hours, throwing normal life out of gear in the maximum city.

In the last 24 hours, the island city recorded 84.7 mm rainfall, western suburbs recorded 95.89 mm, while eastern suburbs registered 76.27 mm rainfall, according to civic body weather stations.

The incessant rains lead to heavy traffic jams on the Eastern Express Highway and Western Express Highway, the east-west links, suburban and arterial roads, as well as those connecting Mumbai with the Thane and Raigad.

Mumbai's suburban rail network was also affected with trains running 15-20 minutes slow in some sections.

Meanwhile, the weather department predicts more rainfall for Maharashtra for next three-four days as monsoon enters the petering-out phase.

According to Met department figures, weather station at Dahanu Road recorded 111.5 mm rainfall, Alibaugh 72.8 mm, Ratnagiri 38.9 mm, Mahabaleshwar 106.2 mm, Harnail 218.9 mm, Nashik 11 mm and Satara 25.4 mm rainfall in the last 24 hours.

According to an official attached to Disaster Management Control Room at Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), no untoward incident was reported so far including instances of water logging.

Met department has also issued high tide warning at 3:56 PM and 10:11 PM today.

In a major relief for the 17 million Mumbaikars, all the lakes supplying drinking water to the metropolis are full. The water in Tulsi, Vehar, Tansa, Bhatsa, Modak Sagar, Upper Vaitarna and Middle Vaitarna water bodies stands at more than 14,47,300 million litres.

Last year, deficit rain led to water storage of 11,07,400 million litres, which resulted in sharp water cuts during the peak demand in summer months.

Maharashtra Rains

Heavy spells of rains have been forecast for the next 3-3 days till Sunday, especially in the coastal areas where fishermen have been warned against venturing out into the Arabian Sea due to strong winds.

The monsoon revival is attributed to the formation of a new weather system in west-central Bay of Bengal, which is presently prevalent over northwest Bay of Bengal, coastal areas of south Odisha and northern Andhra Pradesh.

According to Skymet Weather, the system is moving westwards quickly and expected to come close to Konkan and Goa regions soon.

This year, the rainfall in Maharashtra till September 18 has been 972 mm, whereas comparative annual rainfall has been 1,050 mm. The rainfall has crossed the average rainfall of last two years, which was in the range of 660 mm to 670 mm.