Torrential and incessant rain since Friday hit Mumbai and Thane hard on Saturday. While the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) bore the brunt in Mumbai, several parts of Thane district witnessed flooding.
Badlapur in Thane district was the worst hit, with several parts of the town and nearby areas being flooded. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Indian Air Force and the local police rescued 115 residents from various locations. Several teams have been kept on standby in the area.
Meanwhile, in Bhiwandi, about 500 residents of Dream Complex and Wonder Complex in Kongaon were evacuated after water levels rose to several feet in both residential complexes.
Waterlogging was reported in the airport area and dewatering pumps had to be deployed, a CSMIA spokesperson said. “Keeping the adverse weather and the passengers in mind, the contingency plan at Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) was activated. Furthermore, food, water, and transportation was arranged for the passengers,” the spokesperson said. “As many as 11 flights of various airlines are cancelled for today.”
Dislocation of a rainwater pipeline joint led to water leaking on the airport premises on Saturday. Meanwhile, containers were blown away by the strong wind early on Saturday morning, damaging a parked Vistara Airbus A320 (VT TTG) causing a dent in the starboard side of one of the engines. There were no passengers or crew on board, a Vistara official said.
Until 8.30 p.m. on Saturday, the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) Colaba Observatory recorded 36.4 mm of rainfall, while Santacruz recorded 18.3 mm. It has predicted “heavy to very heavy” rains in Mumbai, including “extremely heavy” rain in isolated places for Sunday.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, meanwhile, said it had recorded 57 cases of trees or branches falling across the city, with nearly 35 reported from the western suburbs and 11 each in the eastern suburbs and the island city. There were 10 cases of portions of walls or slabs collapsing. No injuries were reported in any of the incidents.
Education Minister Vinod Tawde tweeted in the evening that the reporting for CAP Round II for engineering has been extended by two days, while the deadline for online submission of forms for CAP Round III for pharmacy has been extended by a day and the deadline for First Year ME and M.Tech courses extended by two days.
