The India Meterological Department, Mumbai has issued an advisory for heavy rainfall over the next 48 hours in Mumbai, Konkan and Goa, even as the city witnessed an average of 49 mm rain on Friday.
V.K. Rajeev, director, IMD, said, “We have issued an advisory for heavy rain, but there is no need to panic. The advisory is for fishermen warning them not to venture into the sea, but obviously it is valid for Mumbai citizens too.”
Ports also issued a warning for fishermen. “Due to an offshore trough from the south Gujarat coast to the north Kerala coast, squally weather likely to prevail over Konkan. Signal no LC-III hoisted at ports from Dahanu to Marmugao on the Maharashtra-Goa coast. Fishermen are advised not to venture out in sea in the next 24 hours,” the alert said.
Mumbai’s city and suburbs received their first spells of heavy rain accompanied by thunder, leading to water-logging in low-lying areas when the rainfall coincided with the high tide. The city received 49.5 mm rain between 8 am and 8 pm, while the eastern and western suburbs received 36.98 and 28.532 mm rain respectively, BMC Disaster Control room officials said.
A Level 3 fire was reported at a godown in Sewri on Friday morning, which was brought under control within 90 minutes by eight fire engines. The fire brigade control room said scrap material, tyres and wooden articles stored in the godown had caught fire. There were also six reports of short circuits — five in the city and one in the eastern suburbs.
Deputy municipal commissioner Sudhir Naik said, “The BMC has a disaster mitigation plan in place that ensures rain-related monitoring by adequate number of civic officials, even on weekends. We are prepared to tackle any monsoon-related exigencies.”
Three instances of slab collapses were reported in the eastern and western suburbs, while two assistant matrons at KEM Hospital were reportedly injured when a portion of the ceiling collapsed. The injured have been identified as Sujata Wagh, 57, and Meenakshi Raut, 47. Their condition was reported to be stable.
Meanwhile, 19 trees fell due to heavy rains — four in the city, five in the eastern suburbs and 11 in the western suburbs. In on instance, a tree collapsed on an autorickshaw in Juhu’s JVPD scheme. A person identified as Mulayam Singh sustained injuries to his legs in the incident. He was treated at the Cooper Hospital and discharged.
Rail services on the Western, Main and Harbour lines of the suburban railway were affected by the heavy downpour, with services delayed by 30 minutes to over an hour on all three routes. Low-lying areas in Parel and Hindmata in central Mumbai were water-logged around 3 pm as the heavy rains were accompanied by high tide, with 4.42-metre-high waves reported.
The writer is a freelance journalist
Suburban trains were affected by the heavy downpour, with delays of 30 minutes to over an hour
