Rain gods have finally got cracking. Last week’s measly showers finally made way for intense rains on Sunday. Weather department predicts more heavy rainfall for the coming 48 hours
The rain gods have finally got cracking. Last week’s measly showers and abundant sunshine finally made way for intense rains on Sunday. Officials at the regional weather department say that heavy rainfall is expected to continue for the coming 48 hours.
Two workers join hands to make it across the street in Bandra. Pics/Shadab Khan
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With rains lashing most of Mumbai, eight trees collapsed, and short circuits were reported from different regions. Luckily, no one was injured in the mishaps. Mumbai recorded a healthy 60.2 mm rainfall in Colaba and 94 mm in Santacruz till Sunday evening. The constant downpour is unlikely to relent in the coming two days, said V K Rajeev, director, Regional Meteorological Centre.
Pillion riders do the best they can to shelter themselves
“A low pressure area has formed near the Bay Of Bengal due to which we are expecting heavy rainfall in city,” he said. While citizens cheered the long-awaited pleasant weather, a tree collapsed on Mahakali Road in Andheri, followed by another in Vile Parle’s Nehru Road.
Similar incidents occurred in Lokhandwala, Ghatkopar, Powai, Chembur, Borivli and Kandivli, bringing traffic to a halt in the areas. When contacted, an official from the BMC disaster management department said, “The incidents have not injured anyone. The firemen reached the spots immediately and cleared the areas to avoid further inconvenience to commuters.”
The official added that the civic body had issued an alert for tidal waves on Sunday afternoon. “Tidal waves were around 4.19 metres high when they hit the Mumbai shoreline at 12:53 pm. We are expecting waves that are 3.74 metres high on Monday morning,” he said.
Roads turn streams
Western suburbs, especially Malad, Andheri, Goregaon, Virar and Vile Parle, saw the most waterlogged streets in the city. “There was waterlogging in Sakinaka, Powai and Vikhroli as well, but only till afternoon.
By evening, these areas cleared up, but the problem persisted in the western suburbs,” said an official from BMC’s disaster management control room. Meanwhile, eight short circuits took place in different residential areas including Wadala, Bhoiwada, Kajupada in Borivli, Chembur, Walkeshwar, Dharavi and Byculla. There were no major incidents, nor any casualties.
Drowning cases; two youths die
Yesterday evening, 27-year-old Abhishek Singh lost his life after he drowned during a visit to Pandavkada waterfall in Kharghar.
He had gone there to spend the weekend with three friends, but met with his death around 3 pm. Police officials had to vacate the spot of its 2,000 picnickers in order to carry out rescue operations. An hour later, they fished out Singh’s body and took it to Om Namo Jivan Hospital where he was declared dead on arrival.
The second case was reported half a kilometre from Aksa Beach, off Malad. A group of eight friends had decided to head to the beach, unknown to the dangers awaiting them. At 4 pm, as the waters started receding, two from the group - Chetan Sharma (26) and Apurva Kharid (20) - were caught in the ebbing flow and were spotted drowning in the sea. The lifeguards rescued them and rushed them to Atlanta Hospital in Marve, where Sharma was declared dead.
Rains push mercury down
On Sunday, the temperature dipped to 25 degrees Celsius in both Santacruz and Colaba, a welcome relief after Saturday’s beating heat. Whereas, the maximum temperature was recorded at 31.9 degrees Celsius in Colaba and 31.8 degrees Celsius in Santacruz. The relative humidity at the two places was 98 per cent and 86 per cent respectively.
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