Four injured in tree fall incidents; hoarding falls in Thane, but no one is hurt; 88 trains cancelled
Many people were caught up in the heavy rains and strong winds on Thursday such as this bicycle rider at Hanuman Nagar in Goregaon
Day four of the rains in the city and suburbs was no less troublesome than day three, no thanks to Cyclone Vayu. Four people were injured in tree fall incidents on Thursday, while in Thane a hoarding collapsed in the strong winds near the railway station. Fortunately, no one was hurt.
Mother and child hurt In the first incident of injuries, Saiman Ballappa, 7, and his mother Sulochana Balappa, 45, were hurt near Jose Compound in Sahar village when a tree fell on them. The injured duo were immediately taken to the R N Cooper Hospital. Saiman's hand was fractured while Sulochana sustained injuries to her head and shoulders. While Saiman has been admitted, it is learnt that she took discharge against doctor's advice.
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According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) Disaster Management Cell, the required agencies were immediately mobilised and the work of removing the remaining tree was in progress. But local residents claimed nothing was done until 5.30 pm. A local resident, Godfrey Pimenta of Watchdog Foundation, said, "A Gulmohar tree fell near Jose Compound at around 1.30 pm. Despite complaining to the Disaster Management Cell, it was not attended till 5.30 pm. The road was blocked till then."
View Photos: Cyclone Vayu: Mumbaikars fight strong winds and heavy rains
Some braved the rain to get to work or drop kids off to school
Two more injured
A hoarding near Thane railway station collapsed due to strong winds on Thursday morning. No one was injured in the incident. However, later a tree branch fell on Gokhale Road, injuring an 11-year-old and a 50-year-old man, Atul Patel. They were immediately taken to the civil hospital. They had sustained minor scratches and so were immediately released.
As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD) Mumbai, the very severe cyclonic storm, Vayu, remained practically stationary over the Arabian Sea near Gujarat Coast. Later it passed the Maharashtra Coast. However, rain is likely to continue even on Friday in the city. According to IMD's readings, in the past 24 hours, the maximum wind speed was 58 kmph at 12.30 on Wednesday.
WR's preparations
From Wednesday till Thursday, a total 128 trains of the Western Railway were affected, due to the precautionary measures taken to safeguard the passengers. Of these, 88 trains were cancelled and 40 were short terminated/short originated. Ravinder Bhakar – Chief Public Relations Officer of Western Railway said, "Various safety and security precautions are also being taken by WR for train passengers of these cyclone prone areas under the jurisdiction of WR i.e. Veraval, Okha, Porbandar, Bhavnagar, Bhuj and Gandhidham, etc. As soon as information was received from the metrological department that cyclone Vayu was expected to hit the Gujarat coast, extensive arrangements were made by WR at both zonal and divisional levels."
Also Read: Cyclone Vayu changes course, unlikely to make landfall in Gujarat, says IMD
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