Mumbai inundated after heaviest rain in 24 hours in past 5 years; train and bus services hit, schools closed

According to the IMD’s observatories, the Santacruz recording station registered 268 mm of rainfall even as the Colaba centre registered only 84 mm of rainfall in the past 24 hours. This is the highest 24-hour period rainfall recorded in the city since 2019 when the Santacruz station recorded 375.2 mm of rain within 24 hours on July 2.

While the weather bureau issued a nowcast warning at 12.30 am on Monday for Mumbai, Thane and Raigad districts, meteorologists said the intensity of showers picked up pace only after 2.30 am. Sushma Nair, Scientist, IMD Mumbai said, “While the Santacruz station had registered 40.9 mm rain until 2.30 am, 210.9 mm rain was recorded between 2.30 am and 4 am”.

Attributing the downpour to an offshore trough, Nair added, “There was an offshore trough along north Gujarat and Kerala coast, which strengthened along North Konkan around midnight, resulting in the heavy rains”.

According to the weather bureau, the city is likely to witness heavy rainfall in isolated pockets over the next 24 hours.

The outburst of extremely heavy rain within a short period took a toll on the city’s infrastructure with several pockets experiencing water logging on Monday morning. Many suburban localities in Juhu, Sion, Kurla, and Andheri amongst others were inundated with water-logged streets, forcing residents to wade through knee-deep waters in some localities. Owing to the showers, the Andheri subway was shut for traffic in the late hours, with the traffic resuming around 10.30 am on Monday, after the overflowing water was pumped out and barricades shifted.

Amidst traffic snarls and choked streets, the civic body diverted the routes of nearly 10 BEST bus services. Indian Railways services on the Central and Harbour lines were also disrupted affecting commuters heading to their workplaces.

Meanwhile, according to the civic body, 39 incidents of tree and branch collapse incidents were reported until Monday morning, of which 19 were from the western suburbs, 12 from the island city, and 8 from the eastern suburbs.

Taking cognisance of the IMD forecast for continued downpours and high tides later in the day, the civic body declared a holiday in all BMC, government, and privately run schools and colleges in the city.

On Sunday afternoon, the IMD sounded a ‘yellow’ alert in the city stating the likelihood of ‘heavy rainfall in isolated pockets’ until Monday. However, the weather bureau has drawn the flak of citizens for failing to flag the intensity of showers in advance.