As predicted by the Indian Meteorological Department, the southwest monsoon rains have arrived with full force in Mumbai today. The downpour washed large parts of Mumbai, Thane, Palghar and Raigad, flooding several low-lying areas, merely two weeks after the Cyclone Tauktae devastation. Commute via ‘local’ suburban trains and roadways is also affected here now, due to the water-logging.
Mumbai weather update
The IMD Mumbai has predicted that the nimbus cloud cover will envelop the city for the next 48 hours. During this period, Mumbai and the satellite suburbs will receive moderate to heavy rain. In the last 24 hours, the regional meteorologic observatory at Colaba in Mumbai has recorded up to 59.6mm of rainfall. In the same range, the centre at Santacruz has logged in 77.4mm of showers.
The MET department has also hinted at the possibility of very heavy rains falls at isolated places in these regions. The maximum and minimum temperatures during the 2-day period are expected to vary between 30°C to 25°C, respectively.
Local travel suspended amid heavy rains
The Central and Western Railways suburban services suspended facilities on the main and harbour lines, hindering easy commute in the city. The CR Spokesperson Shivaji Sutar said that all services on the Harbour Line between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and Vashi (Navi Mumbai) have been suspended due to waterlogging near Chunabhatti station.
Likewise, the mainline services between the Thane-CSMT track have also been shut due to flooded tracks near Kurla. The Central Railway is currently operating trains between Thane to Karjat, Thane to Kasal and Vashi-Panvel sectors.
Western Railway spokesperson, Sumit Thakur, stated that all Harbour Line trains on the Andheri-CSMT routes will be suspended until further notice due to waterlogging at Wadala station. He further informed that water pumps were deployed to drain out the excess water from the railway tracks.
Heavy rains & high tides hinder commute in Mumbai
While local trains are accessible to only a select few amid the COVID hours, the stoppage of trains has hit Mumbai transport as traffic was diverted to the road. The traffic snarls intensified as stretches of the Eastern Express Highway, Western Express Highway, major roads like SV Road in the west and LBS Marg in the east alongside other roads and lanes were flooded.
The rainwater also seeped into the building compounds and even ground floor flats in some areas of Malad, Khar and Kurla, accompanied by lightning and gusty winds. Subways at Andheri, Malad and Kandivali too became inaccessible due to water seepage. It may be noted here that the city also experienced a 4.16 metre-high tide from 11:43 AM onwards.
