Heavy rains ravage Mumbai, kill two; local train services hit

Mumbai: Heavy downpour pummelled Mumbai and its suburbs, with some parts recording more than 200 mm rainfall in the wee hours of Saturday, inundating low-lying areas and affecting the movement of local trains.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert, forecasting heavy to very heavy rainfall in the metropolis for two days.

Incessant rain continued to lash parts of the city in the morning with occasional heavy spells.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has appealed to citizens not to step out unnecessarily.

Two people were killed and as many others sustained injuries in a landslide amid rains in the Vikhroli Parksite area in the eastern suburbs.

The downpour began around 1 am and continued into the early hours of the day, causing waterlogging in low-lying areas of the western and eastern suburbs, including Vikhroli, Ghatkopar, Bhandup, Chunabhatti, Aarey, Andheri, Kings Circle, Malad, and Goregaon, among others.

The suburban train services were also severely affected due to waterlogging on tracks at several locations on the Central and Western Railway lines.

On the Central Railway line, tracks were submerged at Matunga, Sion, Kurla, Vidyavihar, Ghatkopar, and Bhandup on the main line, and Wadala, Chunabhatti, Tilak Nagar and Kurla on the Harbour Line.

Passengers have complained that Harbour Line services continue to be badly affected.

Tracks were also inundated on the stretch between Dadar and Mahim stations on the Western Railway.

"The water receded around 8 am and the train traffic slowly returned to normalcy," said Swapnil Nila, chief public relations officer of Central Railway, adding that the trains were running 15-20 minutes late around 11.30 am.

A spokesperson from Western Railway said that suburban services on the network were running about 15 minutes late.

According to railway officials, most government and private officers and establishments in the city have declared a holiday for the Dahi Handi festivities, and the suburban services were not crowded.

A spokesperson from the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) said that bus operations were also affected, as several buses were diverted from waterlogged areas in Sion, Kings Circle, Aarey Colony, and Malad Subway, among others.

Civic officials said pumping operations were underway in multiple areas, and response teams had been deployed to address complaints of waterlogging and tree falls.

Municipal Commissioner and administrator Bhushan Gagrani visited the disaster management emergency control room at the civic headquarters and gave necessary instructions to officials, a BMC spokesperson said.

According to the IMD, several parts of Mumbai recorded more than 200 mm of rainfall between 8.30 am on Friday and 5.30 am on Saturday.

Vikhroli, in the eastern suburbs, recorded the highest rainfall at 248.5 mm, followed by Santacruz with 232.5 mm, Sion with 221 mm, and Juhu with 208 mm.

The intensity of rainfall was higher in the suburbs compared to south Mumbai, where Colaba recorded just 70 mm of rainfall during this period.

The IMD had on Friday issued an orange alert for Mumbai for two days, predicting heavy to very heavy rainfall. However, the department updated it to a red alert in the wee hours of Saturday.

"Warnings are updated as early strengthening of synoptic situations," said Shubhangi Bhute, an IMD official, adding that in the coming days, the entire west coast is likely to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall with isolated extremely heavy spells.