Mumbai, suburbs can expect heavy rain today; IMD issues orange alert

Even as heavy rain continued to lash Mumbai on Wednesday, the IMD extended the orange alert until Thursday. According to the forecast, there is a possibility of moderate to heavy rain in the city and its suburbs, and extremely heavy rainfall in isolated places.

The private weather forecast agency, Skymet, said the city may record a three-digit rainfall today. The IMD's Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Mumbai issued an orange alert for Thane and Raigad, and a red alert for Palghar, Pune and Nashik, indicating extremely heavy rainfall, today.

Also read: IN PHOTOS: Incessant rains in Mumbai; flooding in low-lying areas

Schoolchildren step into mucky water, as they try to navigate a waterlogged street, at Gandhi Market in King's Circle, on Wednesday. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

According to a meteorologist from Skymet Weather Services, a private forecasting agency, the low-pressure area that was over Odisha and adjoining areas moved a little inland. "The convergence zone of the system is extending far ahead, and the east-west shear zone is also in proximity to Mumbai...we can expect heavy rain on July 14, too," the meteorologist said, adding that the city is likely to record a three-digit rainfall, leading to waterlogging, etc.

Six dead in 24 hours

Over the past 24 hours, at least six people were killed in weather-related accidents across Maharashtra, and 95 others were evacuated as torrential rain lashed the districts of Gadchiroli, Nandurbar, Nashik, and Palghar. Majority of the evacuations took place in Gadchiroli, Nashik, Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri and Raigad districts. Two people died when a building fell in Mumbai, while one person drowned in Gadchiroli.

Jayanta Sarkar, head of RMC Mumbai, said, "Intense rainfall activity over Konkan and adjoining ghat areas of Madhya Maharashtra is expected to continue till July 14 with gradual reduction thereafter. Widespread rainfall activity with heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places and isolated extremely heavy rainfall is expected over Madhya Maharashtra, parts of Marathwada and Vidarbha."

The city also witnessed a dip in mercury with the maximum temperatures at 28.1 degrees Celsius and 28.8 degrees Celsius, as recorded by the Santacruz observatory and Colaba observatory, respectively.

Dam overflow alert

Meanwhile, the Thane and Palghar civic administrations have warned the villages near riverbanks of a probable dam overflow, since catchment areas have received significant rainfall in recent days. The Thane administration, on Tuesday, said the Tansa and Modak Sagar dams were on the verge of overflowing, and villages on the riverbanks were put on high alert. Villages on the banks of the Tansa and Vaitarna rivers have been alerted about the possible overflow of the dams as well, which come under the BMC, it said.