Incessant showers lashed at Mumbai and its neighbouring areas on July 13 morning, leading to flooding in many low-lying areas and traffic snarls on roads, officials said.
The local trains, considered as the lifeline of the metropolis, were largely unaffected on the Central Railway and Western Railway routes. The suburban services on the Harbour Line were running slow, according to railway officials.
Some areas, including the Andheri subway, which connects the east and west parts of the suburb, were flooded and police had restricted its use by citizens.
The Western Express Highway, connecting suburbs to south Mumbai, also witnessed heavy traffic, a Mumbai traffic police official said. “There was heavy traffic on the route in Borivali, Goregaon, Jogeshwari, Andheri and up to some extent near Bandra,” the official said.
The Colaba (in south Mumbai) and Santacruz (western suburb) observatories reported 24mm and 44.6mm of rainfall, respectively, in the 24-hour period till 8.30 a. m. on Wednesday.
As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD), 20 locations in Mumbai received nearly 40mm showers in six hours till 9.30 a. m. on Wednesday.
“It is not a very high rainfall, but if it continues for some hours there could be water-logging on streets, further affecting the vehicular movement," an IMD official.
The MeT Department has predicted a wet spell for the State capital on Wednesday and Thursday. The cumulative rainfall in Mumbai has already surpassed its average precipitation in the present monsoon season, as per the IMD data.
There was waterlogging up to 1.5 to two feet at the Andheri subway, following which traffic was divert to the SV Road, a police official said. Flooding was also reported at the Kamani junction in Kurla and traffic there was normal.
In the Deonar eastern suburb, there was waterlogging up to 0.5ft at Neelam Junction. There was similar inundation on the Mankhurd railway bridge and traffic was moving slow, the official said.
Water accumulated up to one feet at the Bandra-Worli Sea Link gate, due to which traffic movement was slow in Worli, he said. A tree collapsed in Bandra-Kurla Complex area, following which traffic was diverted from there to the JB Junction.
Traffic was slow at Paresh Park Market in Vikhroli, a bus depot near Santacruz railway station, Dadar TT, Wadala Shakkar Panchayat, near the Fatima High School in Ghatkopar, Sonapur Junction and Khar railway junction due to water accumulation, the police said. A bus got halted at the Pedder Road, slowing down traffic on the route, they added.
IMD forecasts intense showers in many parts of Maharashtra
The India Meteorological Department on July 13 morning issued a nowcast warning for Maharashtra’s Pune, Satara, Solapur, Sangli and Kolhapur districts, predicting moderate to intense rainfall at isolated places in next 3 to 4 hours. A nowcast is a prediction made by analysis of data currently available.
The IMD has also issued a similar warning for Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Dhule, Nandurbar, Osmanabad, Aurangabad, Beed and Nashik districts.
“Moderate to intense rain spells also very likely to occur at isolated places in Thane, Palghar, Mumbai and Raigad during the next 3 to 4 hours,” IMD’s weather forecasting division head Anupam Kashyapi said.
“Packed isobars over the Arabian Sea are still persisting. Strong westerlies result in enhanced pressure gradient force, causing huge wind convergence over Konkan-Goa and in ghat sections of Madhya Maharashtra,” he said.
“The presence of a well-marked low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal is persisting almost at the same time,” he said.
“There would not be much reduction in rainfall activity over the State and Pune district till Thursday. The monsoon will continue to be vigorous over the State today and tomorrow,” the official said.
Meanwhile, incessant rains in Pune and other western Maharashtra districts led to a rise in the water level of various dams. The collective water storage of Khadakwasla, Temghar, Warasgaon and Panshet dams, which provide water supply to Pune city, reached over 12 TMC (thousand million cubic feet), which is 42% of the total collective capacity of the four reservoirs, a district administration official said.
“As the Khadakwasla dam is filling up rapidly, water is being released from it at 10,000 cubic feet per second (cusec),” the official said.
According to the fire department, 20 incidents of tree fall were reported in Pune city on Tuesday and three people were injured in two separate incidents of wall collapse. In Satara district, the Koyna dam water level is over 38 TMC, which is 36% of the total capacity.
The popular Mahabaleshwar hill station in Satara recorded 136mm rainfall in the last 24 hours, while Koyna and Navja recorded 123mm and 142 mm rains, respectively, said an official.
The Panchaganga river level at Rajaram weir in Kolhapur reached 35.2ft after incessant rains in the district. The warning level is at 39ft and the danger level is 43ft at the weir.
“Four State roads and seven district main roads in Kolhapur were closed for vehicular movement after water accumulated on some stretches,” a Public Works Department official in the district said.
