Mumbai: Cyclone Ockhi passed the Mumbai coast on Tuesday, and much to the relief of citizens, brought only rains in its wake. There was no damage to life or property.
The city and its suburbs experienced rainfall since morning due to the cyclonic activity, but this subsided by afternoon. The high tide scheduled at 12.43 pm did not cause any damage. Though the cyclone has passed, there could still be intermittent rains, a BMC Disaster Management Cell officer said. He said the cyclone did not affect the city’s road and rail traffic.
State government officers said 2,605 boats returned to shore or took shelter at ports in the Konkan region after the cyclone warning.
Schools and colleges in the city and neighbouring districts remained closed on Tuesday, in case the rain intensified. Many chose to stay home, leaving the streets relatively free of traffic snarls, while trains were less crowded than usual.
By evening, Ockhi had weakened into a deep depression. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said it expected it to weaken more before it reaches the coast near Surat. “Ockhi might even dissipate into the sea before it reaches the coast. It was earlier expected to cross into land as a deep depression. The north Arabian Sea has cooler waters, which is said a factor weakening the storm,” an IMD official said.
Rains lashed the city from early morning, but no major disruptions were reported. Fake reports and facts about the cyclone were circulating on social media, causing some fear in people, including a video of a ‘hailstorm’ in Panvel. Another video was of giant waves hitting a bridge, which was said to be the Bandra Worli Sea Link. While the “hailstorm” was found to have been shot in Istanbul, Turkey, the ‘sea link’ video turned out to be an old one from Lakshadweep.
MU holds exam
Despite rains, Mumbai University successfully conducted its scheduled engineering exams. The university refused to cancel scheduled semester exams for second-year students and repeat exams for final year students. Dr. Vaibhav Narwade, an engineering professor, said, “The exams went off smoothly with no complaints from any students. Attendance was normal. Not even one student came in late or complained of delays.”
IMD officials said wind speed was at 50 kmph to 60 kmph, while the Colaba weather station recorded 51.3 mm on Tuesday. “The rains had a minor effect on trains on all three lines,” said ACP (GRP) Sunil Tondwalkar, control room. JCP (Traffic) Amitesh Kumar said, “We had expected water logging, but no incidents were reported.”
“The intensity of rain in Mumbai is expected to decrease in a few hours,” Skymet’s chief meteorologist Mahesh Palawat said. BMC officers said water logging was reported in some parts of the city, but was quickly drained.
