05 December,2017 06:17 PM IST | Mumbai | Pallavi Smart
Parts of city to experience heavy showers as cyclone expected to weaken by late tomorrow night; Mumbai plays it safe, stays indoors today
Mumbaikars will have to brace themselves for another day of heavy rainfall as the effect of the Ockhi cyclone, which is currently passing through Mumbai, is expected to prevail over the city for a few hours more, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned. The situation is likely to stabilise on Wednesday.
In a statement issued this morning, the IMD has said that Ockhi is currently moving further north-northeastwards at a speed of 21 kmph and will pass through the west-southwest of Mumbai in the next six hours. "It is likely to continue to move north-northeastwards, weaken gradually and cross south Gujarat and adjoining north Maharashtra coasts near Surat as a deep depression by the night of December 5," the statement reads.
While railway services took a slight hit this morning with minor delays being reported on the Central and Harbour line, airplane operations continued normally. "Due to continuous rainfall, traffic is moving slowly at a few spots in the city. But, there have been no complaints of water-logging as yet," said an official from the disaster control room of the BMC.
As the state government had declared a holiday for schools in the city today, there was less congestion on roads. Foreseeing trouble, several Mumbaikars also chose to work from home.
Rouell Rodrigues, a marketing professional, said the roads were emptier this morning. "I had left home early for work, but managed to get an autorickshaw on time. I reached office within 20 minutes, which is usually not the case."
Another Mumbaikar, Shreyas Jadhav, a marketing manager at Fin Tech Company, said, "Office attendance was poor today. Many people have opted to work from home due to the warning issued by the IMD. I am also planning to leave for home post lunch."
As per IMD predictions, intermittent rain and thundershowers are likely to occur in the city and suburbs. Heavy rainfall is expected at a few places. Coastal areas are likely to experience squally wind at 50 to 60 kmph.
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