2nd heaviest August downpour in a decade leaves 3 dead in Mumbai

2nd heaviest August downpour in a decade leaves 3 dead in Mumbai

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai:  05.08.2020

As the skies opened up on Monday night and Tuesday morning, parts of the city received 300 mm of rain, the second highest for a day in August in a decade. The downpour caused road and rail disruptions and tragedy, with three persons dead — two in a chawl collapse in Vakola and one by electrocution in Thane — and a 6-year-old child reported missing.

Proving the Met department’s forecast of heavy rain for Mumbai correct, parts of Dadar, Worli and Malabar Hill got 300mm of rainfall. In the 24 hours ending 8.30 am Tuesday, the IMD Colaba observatory recorded 252.2 mm of rain and Santacruz 268.6 mm. The highest 24-hour rainfall in August in the decade was 331 mm in 2017.

At around 7.30am, boulders and soil came crashing down on the arterial Western Express Highway in Kandivli East, but no motorist or pedestrian was injured in the landslide. Vehicular traffic was however affected.

Train services on all three lines were hampered, and BEST had to divert buses from 60 routes owing to waterlogging. MIAL, though, said flight operations at Mumbai airport were nearnormal. The state government quickly stepped in to declare a holiday for its offices in the city and suburbs, and the Bombay high court suspended all hearings.

The India Meteorological Department has issued a red alert for Mumbai, Thane and Palghar for Wednesday and warned of extremely heavy rain at isolated places. The spell of heavy rain is likely to continue over 24-48 hours.

CITY GOES DOWN UNDER: With parts of Mumbai getting over 300mm rain, many