Mumbai: Mumbai and its suburbs received over 100 mm of rainfall in 12 hours till 8 PM on Sunday, inundating roads in many areas, diverting flights, and briefly affecting local train traffic between Dadar and Matunga stations due to water-logging.
The island city recorded 101 mm of rainfall in 12 hours from 8 AM, while eastern and western suburbs received a rainfall of 121 mm and 113 mm, respectively, officials said. Rains abated in the night hours. Due to intense rainfall, the Mithi river water level rose to 2.26 metres, a civic official said. Notably, the river level beyond its alarming 2.7-meter mark causes a flood. In the 2005 deluge in Mumbai, some areas in Kurla had witnessed numerous casualties. The Mithi river originates in Sanjay Gandhi National Park and winds its way down 18 km to the Mahim Creek before emptying into the Arabian Sea.
Earlier in the day, 36 flights were cancelled at the Mumbai airport and 15 flights, including the ones operated by Air India, IndiGo and Akasa, were diverted to nearby airports, mainly Ahmedabad, till 4 pm, amid intermittent heavy spells of rain. Heavy rains forced the facility operator to suspend runway operations twice during the day, for eight minutes at 12.12 pm and later from 1 pm to 1.15 pm, sources said. Local train services were delayed by 15 to 20 minutes on the Harbour Line due to waterlogging near Mankhurd, Panvel and Kurla stations, while services on the Western Railway section operated normally. In the evening, the Central Railway services on the down fast line between Dadar and Matunga stations were affected.
Additionally, water logging on tracks at Dadar on the Up and Down fast line compounded the problem, an official said. Local train services resumed later as the rain intensity decreased. A traffic police official said Andheri Subway in DN Nagar was closed, and the southbound traffic was
diverted via Gokhale Bridge and northbound traffic via Thackeray Bridge due to water accumulation.