Mumbai winces, Met office predicts more rain

WATER WOES: The rains disrupted traffic as many areas were waterlogged in Mumbai.

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Keywords: Army , Metrological Department

New Delhi: Ghosts of the last year's deluge returned to haunt Mumbai on Saturday when heavy rains and water-logging crippled the Maximum City since early hours on Saturday.

Dowpour inundated several parts of the metrpolis particularly low-lying areas and normal life was disrupted with road, suburban rail and air service thrown out of gear due to flooding.

Heavy traffic jams on the road continued to cripple the city through the evening and many trains have been cancelled.

While Mumbai has already received 40 per cent of the rain expected this season, the meteorological department warns there will be heavy to very heavy rainfall in the next 24 hours.

There are reports of building and wall collapse in 10 places across the city and three people have been electrocuted.

Over 1500 people have been relocated to safer grounds due to rising water levels in the Mithi river in suburban Mumbai as the water rose to dangerous levels.

Evacuations were also carried out in the Ratnagiri, Raigad and Sangli districts in western Maharashtra with over 550 persons shifted from their homes.

Army and Navy teams have been pressed into action in the city and the Konkan region.

At least five persons were killed here, three washed away in the floods, while neighbouring Thane recorded three deaths.

Asia's largest slums in Dharavi in the city were submerged while there were reports of several wall collapses. Officials also said there had been four deaths each in Ratnagiri and Satara districts.

News agencies report the incessant rain that began around 0400 hours has submerged several low-lying areas in Matunga, Sion, Bandra, Andheri, Wadla, Worli,Chembur, Lower Parel, Borivali and the Milan subway.

Mumbai has recorded an average rainfall of about 288 mm, the highest this monsoon, with regions like Vikhroli recording up to 389 mm of rainfall since early Saturday morning, city civic authorities said.

The Central Railways trains have been completely stranded and local train services have also been hit.

Trains between Kurla station and the Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus on the central line have been cancelled. All Pune-bound trains have also been cancelled

There is over four inches of water on the lines. Local trains running on the western line are running late by five to ten minutes. And flights from Mumbai have been cancelled due to poor visibility.

Portions of a building in Malad have caved in, but no casualties have been reported so far. Three cases of electrocution however, have been reported.

The Meteorological Department had predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall till Sunday in parts of the city and has also warned fishermen not to venture into the seas till Sunday.

LC III flag has been hoisted at ports from Dahanu to Marmagoa and of Maharashtra-Goa coast, the weather office said.

Air traffic from the city was largely unaffected and no flight had to be cancelled due to the rains, a spokesperson for the Mumbai International Airport Limited said, adding that most flights had been delayed by about 30 minutes due to poor visibility.

And considering possibility of heavy rains in some other parts of Maharashtra in the next 48 hours, authorities have alerted district collectors concerned to take all measures to avoid damage to life and property. Highways are still blocked and schools have been closed.

Heavy rains are likely in Marathwada, Vidarbha and north Maharashtra in the next 48 hours, principal secretary, relief and rehabilitation, Ramesh Kumar, said.

District collectors in the affected areas have been alerted, he added.

At present, it has been raining heavily in the Konkan region, Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara, Kumar said. In Mahad town of Konkan region, there was five-feet deep water due to rains, he added.

As a precautionary measures, directives have been issued to dispatch two columns of the Army to Khed and Chiplun in Konkan.

Instructions have been given to national disaster response force to send in one team to Chiplun and Khed with each team to comprise of 60 people.