After a drizzle on Sunday, rains lashed Mumbai on Monday night, accompanied by thunder and lightening. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast thunderstorms with lightning for the night. These are not monsoon rains, but are a result of a deep depression over the Arabian Sea.
The depression is likely to develop into a cyclonic storm (Cyclone Vayu) in the next 24 hours. The IMD had on Monday forecast rain in the city, and truly enough, it had started raining in many parts by night. The cyclonic system will also lead to a dip in daytime temperature in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region in the next few days.
Showers lash suburbs
There was heavy rain accompanied by thundershowers and lightning in Andheri, Malad, Thane, Mulund, Navi Mumbai, Borivali, Kandivali, Sion, Kurla, Vikhroli, Ghatkopar and Dadar. The eastern and western suburbs, especially, reported heavy rainfall between 10pm and 11pm. Malvani recorded 50 mm of rainfall, followed by Malad (44), Kandivali (49), Andheri (West) (41), Goregaon (37) and Mulund (31).
Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg may also see thunderstorms with lightning and gusty winds at a few places. The cyclone will bring down maximum temperatures in the region.
The cyclonic storm, named Vayu, was 800 km south-southwest of Mumbai on Monday and is likely to cause an adverse impact in terms of wind and rainfall over Saurashtra and Kutch on June 13 and 14. Konkan and Goa will have widespread rainfall with heavy rain in some places.
By Tuesday, it will be near the Konkan and Goa coast, about 300 km away from Mumbai. Vayu will also bring relief to Mumbai as the IMD has forecast rain and thundershowers for Mumbai, Thane, Palghar areas (very likely) on Tuesday. This will be followed by light to moderate rain on Wednesday.
Fishermen from Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg have been advised not to venture into the sea.
Two kids electrocuted
Meanwhile, two children died of electrocution in Vimladevi Chawl in Poisar, Kandivali, around 10.50 p.m.. Fire brigade and police personnel took the two children, Tushar Jha (11) and Rushabh Tiwari (10), to Shatabdi Hospital where they were declared dead.
At Girgaum Chowpatty, lifeguards saved a 20-year-old man from drowning. The man, Vishal Bhogavale, was seen drowning about 100 feet away from the seashore. Lifeguards jumped to his rescue, after which he was taken to BYL Nair Hospital. “The patient was brought in around 8 p.m. and was administered nasal oxygen and first aid. He is stable and conscious,” a resident doctor on call at the hospital said.
Air traffic hit
The sudden change of weather affected operations at the airport too. “No flights have landed at the airport since 9.50 p.m.,” a Mumbai International Airport Pvt. Ltd. spokesperson said. A United Air flight from Newark scheduled to land in Mumbai was diverted to Delhi.
All other incoming flights were put on a holding pattern and were circling Mumbai. Landings resumed at 10.45 p.m. with an Indigo flight from Hyderabad being the first to touch down. A Thai Airways flight hit a guard light and sign board, while vacating the runway. The runway remained closed for clearing of debris, adding to the delays.
As per the information received from ATC, 22 flights (six international and 16 domestic) were diverted to Delhi, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad airports.
Suburban trains affected
The stormy weather threw suburban railway out of gear too. On the Harbour Line, the overhead equipment (OHE) tripped between Bandra and Mahim affecting services on the slow line of Western Railway for around 15 minutes. Fast services however ran on time. Services between Andheri and Goregaon on the Harbour Line were suspended, and trains were running only between CSMT and Bandra. Passengers travelling between Andheri and Goregaon were advised to use the Western Railway from Dadar on the same ticket.
On the Central Line, the OHE tripped at Diva leading to a complete blackout. Train services on the section between Thane and Kalyan were hit. Early signs of water logging appeared at Thane station, particularly platform number one, whose entrance was filled with water with the short spurt of rainfall. Services on the Central Line were delayed by around 20 minutes.
