For the third consecutive day, torrential rains lashed Mumbai and its surrounding areas, thereby bringing the maximum city to a halt. Several incidents of water-logging, tree falling, landslide, and vehicles being damaged were reported from across the city.
Mumbai recorded around 320 mm of rainfall while the suburbs recorded 162.3 mm rainfall till 8.30 am on Thursday. As per private weather agency Skymet, the top 10 rainiest places in India, included Mumbai's Colaba, Matheran, Mahabaleshwar, Harnai, Kolhapur and Dahanu from Maharashtra.
Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray reviewed the state administration's preparedness as the Panchganga river in Kolhapur, Kodavali in Ratnagiri, and Kundalika in Raigad were flowing very close to the danger mark.
Several trees uprooted in Bandra, Churchgate and Colaba. In South Mumbai, a huge tree came crashing on a Mumbai Police vehicle in Colaba. No casualties were reported.
In photo: A man snapped jogging at Dadar's Shivaji Park as torrential rains accompanied with gusty winds battered Mumbai.
A massive landslide took place at Kemps Corner in South Mumbai around 12:30 pm due to the continuous downpour. The landslide led to traffic jam in the area and the route was closed for vehicular movement. BMC commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal visited the spot to take stock of the situation. Even cabinet minister Aaditya Thackeray visited several places in the city and suburbs to take a look at the damages caused due to incessant rains.
A 47-year-old man fell into a swollen drain and swept away. The incident took place in Mira-Bhayander township of the district on Wednesday evening and his body was found on Thursday, an official said.
Incidents of building collapse, roads cave in, and inundation were reported from across the city. In Dadar, a portion of a house near Siddhivinayak Temple collapsed, while in Maira-Bhayandar, a portion of a dilapidated four-storey building collapsed. No casualties were reported.
In photo: Cabinet minister Aaditya Thackeray at the spot of the incident in Dadar where a portion of a house of a residential building collapsed.
Gujarat, the ghat areas of Madhya Maharashtra, Konkan and Goa are likely to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall during the next 24 hours, a notification issued by Press Information Bureau (PIB) said.
Skymet said the rainfall activity in the city is likely to see a significant drop. However, IMD's Deputy Director of Meteorology KS Hosalikar said that rains will see a gradual increase in the next 24 hours.
Vihar Lake, which supplies water to Mumbai, is overflowing after heavy downpour. The continuous downpour in the last few days has also increased the water levels in Mumbai's lakes, KS Hosalikar said. He also shared a picture on Twitter showing the percentage of rainfall the lakes received in the last three days.
In order to deal with any untoward situation, 16 teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are stationed in Maharashtra. Five teams were positioned in Mumbai, 4 in Kolhapur, 2 in Sangli, and 1 each in Satara, Than, Palghar, Nagpur, and Raigad.
With incessant rainfall, a high tide of 4.33-meter hit the city's coastline. The huge high tide saw the sea throwing plastic and sea garbage on the road at Marine Drive in South Mumbai.
The extremely heavy rainfall over the past three days exposed Mumbai's chronic waterlogging problem. Marine Lines, Kurla subway and many other areas were submerged.
On Thursday, the Bombay High Court suspended all proceedings for the day. This was the second time in a week that the court had suspended all hearings due to continuous downpour.
34 roads, including 9 state highways, were closed for traffic movement due to flooding in Maharashtra's Kolhapur. Rajaram dam was flowing above danger level, a district administration said.
In photo: A huge tree crashed on a car parked near Wankhede Stadium, Churchgate in South Mumbai.
Several places in South Mumbai, including Marine Lines, Marine Drive, Kalbadevi, Parsi Gymkhana, Islam Gymkhana, etc were flooded. On Wednesday, the Mumbai Fire Brigade received a total of 116 calls between 7 am to 11 pm with regards to monsoon-related incidents.
On Thursday night, KS Hosalikar took to Twitter to inform citizens that Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray took all the weather details for Mumbai and entire Maharashtra over a call from IMD. In a separate tweet, Hosalikar said that IMD has issued a 'yellow' alert for Mumbai and Thane for Friday. A yellow means the authorities should "be updated" "Tomorrow further reduction expected." Hosalikar tweeted.
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