Mumbai: Maharashtra continues to be deluged by heavy rains and the scenario is not likely to change over the next few days. After three consecutive days of 100mm of rain, in the past 24 hours, Mumbai recorded 93mm of rainfall, resulting in significant waterlogging throughout the city.
The Mithi River water level stood at 0.70 metres. Rainfall averages for the city, eastern and western suburbs were 71mm, 72mm, and 59mm respectively, from 8 am on July 20 to 8 am on July 21. Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, and Nagpur districts too experienced extremely heavy rainfall on Sunday.
Forecast Made By The Indian Meteorological Department
The India Meteorological Department has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall in Mumbai for the next four to five days, amid an orange alert for the Konkan region.
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IMD chief Sunil Kamble said, “Mumbai will continue to experience similar rain conditions on Monday. There was heavy rain in Mumbai, Thane and surrounding districts on Sunday.”
Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde's Order To Officials
Widespread waterlogging was reported in many areas of the city. Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has instructed the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), district administration, police, municipal corporations, and municipalities to remain vigilant and assist citizens in every way possible.
Waterlogging resulted in the stranding of several vehicles in Wadala, Matunga, Sion, and Dadar. According to the Mumbai Traffic Police, rising water levels caused some vehicles to break down in the middle of the road.
Traffic police tried to push the vehicles to the side of the road to avert further congestion, but the task was made challenging by the continuous rain. Railway services, particularly on the Main and Harbour lines of Central Railways, were affected. Services were delayed by 15 to 20 minutes because of waterlogging at Nahur and Kurla and Nahur. BEST bus services too were disrupted because of flooded roads, forcing buses to alter their paths.
Reason For Persistent Heavy Rains
According to the IMD, the reason for the persistent heavy rains is the offshore trough at the mean sea level along the south Gujarat-north Kerala coasts, which continues to affect the region. Additionally, there is a cyclonic circulation over Saurashtra and Kutch over the northeast Arabian Sea, adjacent to Kutch, and extends up to 3.1 km above mean sea level, tilting to the southwest. Further, a well-marked low-pressure area over interior Odisha and its surrounding regions has moved northwest and now lies over interior Odisha and adjoining Chhattisgarh.
This system is expected to continue moving northwest across Chhattisgarh and gradually weaken into a low-pressure area within the next 12 hours.
“The shear zone roughly along 20°N between 3.1 and 5.8 km above mean sea level, tilting southwards with height persists. The cyclonic circulation over Saurashtra and Kutch now lies over north-east Arabian Sea adjoining Kutch and extends up to 3.1 km above mean sea level tilting southwestwards with height,” the IMD explained.
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