04 July,2020 11:05 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Water-logged road in Wadala in Mumbai. Pic/Atul Kamble
After steady downpour on Friday, heavy rainfall continued to lash Mumbai on Saturday morning. The continuous downpour caused water-logging at several places across the city with road traffic movement coming to a halt for a few hours on Friday. Heavy rain has been forecasted for Mumbai and nearby areas over the weekend, according to prediction of multiple weather agencies.
On the wee hours of Saturday, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) took to Twitter to inform citizens about a high tide alert of 4.57 metres at 11:38 am today. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places in Mumbai for the next 48 hours. In wake of the heavy rainfall, the civic body has urged citizens to stay away from the sea shore and coastline areas.
The BMC's official Twitter handle has also been updating Mumbaikars about weather alerts and incidents of water-logging in several places in Mumbai. According to IMD's extended range prediction system, there would be normal rainfall across India while Maharashtra along with Goa, Karnataka and Kerala will receive above normal rainfall.
IMD's Mumbai centre deputy director general K S Hosalikar said that on Friday, the rains moved from city side towards the suburbs as the day progressed. Hosalikar has predicted another heavy rainfall day for Mumbai and West Coast today. On the other hand, weather agency IMD has also issued a five days multihazard weather warnings for India.
Private weather agency Skymet said that in the last 24 hours, almost all the stations of south and Central Mumbai have recorded three-digit rainfall. Rainfall activities have been strongest over southernmost suburbs such as Navy Nagar and Colaba. While Navy Nagar has recorded 261 mm rain, Santacruz and Colaba recorded 157mm and 169mm of rainfall respectively.
The private agency said that rain activity will be heavy to very heavy over southern districts of Gujarat during next 2 to 3 days. While many parts of Mumbai will continue to get heavy to very heavy rain and thunder shower activities until today evening. While IMD has predicted extremely heavy rainfall over next 48 hours, Skymet said that the intensity of rain is expected to decrease and moderate showers will continue over parts of Mumbai until July 7 or 8.
On Friday, Mumbai witnessed water-logging at several places including Cuffe Parade, Bhulabhai Desai Road, Worli, Dadar, Chira Bazaar, and Masjid Bunder among others. Traffic was diverted at Parel, Hindmata, Gol Deul, and Sion because of flooding. The city reported at least 24 incidents of major or minor tree crashes and 3 minor incidents of house collapses, but there were no casualties reported.
Mumbai Police took to their micro blogging site and requested citizens to stay indoors and take necessary precautions in wake of the warning for heavy rains in the city. On the other hand, fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea off the Maharashtra-Goa coast on July 3 and July 4.
BMC issues Dos and Don'ts:
After several incidents of water-logging were reported in the city, the country's richest civic body issued a list of dos and don'ts to ensure the safety of the people. The BMC has advised people to keep their mobile phones charged in case of emergency communications, keep torches and candles handy, and store food and medicines. It also asked citizens to avoid standing under trees and consume hygienic and home-made food. Read full story
As Mumbaikars woke up to heavy rains on Saturday, many took to Twitter to share photos and videos of the heavy downpour.
Here are some of the tweets:
The India Meteorological Department has classified light rain between 2.5 and 7.5 mm; moderate rain (7.6-35.5 mm); heavy rain (35.6-64.4 mm); and extremely heavy rain (64.5 - 124.4 mm).
For more details on Mumbai rains, check out the app Mumbai Rain by Skymet
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