Rain intensity picks up in Mumbai; over 30 lives claimed till now
The rains picked up the pace again after a brief spell of reduced intensity, causing inundation in some areas.
After a brief decline in the intensity on Monday morning in Mumbai, the rains have regained the momentum. Several places have been waterlogged and local train services have also been disrupted as per officials. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has reported no fresh death on Monday.
30 lives claimed
On July 18, over 30 people were killed due to the heavy rain-related incidents, including 19 in Mahul area of Chembur where a retaining wall collapsed on some houses after a landslide.
Due to heavy showers in parts of the suburbs, the local train services of the central railway were affected on tracks between Vikhroli and Bhandup. Trains are being run at a cautious speed between Kanjurmarg and Vikhroli stations due to heavy rain.
According to BMC, the eastern suburbs of Mumbai recorded the highest 90.65 mm rainfall in the 24-hour period ending at 8 am on Monday.
IMD alert
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had predicted “heavy to very heavy rain at few places” and issued an orange alert for Mumbai on Monday. There is a forecast of moderate to heavy thundershowers in the city and suburbs. A very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall in isolated places is also predicted.
Alerts by the IMD are issued in colour coded fashion.
A ‘green’ alert stands for ‘no warning’: no action needs to be taken by the authorities, and the forecast is of light to moderate rain.
A ‘red’ alert stands for ‘warning’, and asks authorities to ‘take action’.
An ‘orange’ alert indicates that the authorities are expected to ‘be prepared’.
On July 18, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray took stock of the preparedness by various government agencies to tackle any emergency. Thackeray had directed the agencies to remain more alert and asked authorities to keep a watch on landslide-prone areas and dilapidated buildings.