Mumbai Rains: Heavy rain lashes city and suburbs, IMD issues orange alert

Residents of Mumbai woke up to incessant heavy rainfall on Wednesday. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an orange alert for heavy rains in Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg on Wednesday and a yellow alert for Mumbai till Friday.

“28 June #Mumbai and its sub-urban areas have got isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall till 1430 hours IST: City is already in orange color alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall today,” the India Meteorological Department tweeted on Wednesday afternoon.

Death and damage

Meanwhile, a person died after a huge tree fell over him in a private compound at Malad West. The deceased has been identified as Koushal Doshi (38). He was declared him “brought dead” after being rushed to a nearby civic hospital. Three luxury cars were damaged after a compound wall collapsed due to heavy rain in Navi Mumbai. The wall reportedly collapsed around 11 am on Wednesday.

Rainfall amount

Mumbai witnessed rainfall of 12.44 mm between 8 am to 12 noon on Wednesday while the city’s eastern and western suburbs received 42.41 mm and 40.46 mm of rainfall respectively as per the Regional Meteorological Centre of Mumbai.

“The average rainfall in Mumbai Metropolitan yesterday (27.06.2023), from 8 am to today (28.06.203) 8 am is: Mumbai City- 07 mm. Eastern Suburbs- 28 mm. Western Suburbs- 29 mm.,” the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) tweeted on Wednesday morning.

Rainfall today since 0830 upto 1430 hrs ist in mm
Colaba-75.6
Santacruz- 74.2
Dahisar- 148.5
Bhayander in Thane district -122.5 mm
Juhu- airport- 69.5
Ram mandir- 73.0

— India Meteorological Department (@Indiametdept) June 28, 2023

Traffic disruption

Due to incessant rains across the city and its suburbs, there has been severe waterlogging in several areas including Thane, Malad, Andheri, Dahisar and Borivali disrupting traffic movement during peak office hours. In Mumbai, the Andheri Subway had been shut for vehicular movement for quite some time till Wednesday afternoon due 1.5-2 feet waterlogging, with the traffic being diverted towards Swami Vivekananda Road.

Rain alert

The Met department in Mumbai alerted about moderate rain in the city and suburban areas including heavy to very heavy rainfall at several places. Moderate to heavy shower has been predicted along the coastal districts of Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg on Wednesday. The BMC has warned about a possibility of heavy to very heavy rains in Mumbai with chances of flooding in low-lying areas in the coming 4-5 days.

Fishermen warning

A Fishermen Warning for Maharashtra – Goa Coast was also issued by the Meteorological Department on Wednesday afternoon. The warning for fishermen venturing upto 75km from the coast reads, “Squally weather with wind speed 40-45 kmph gusting to 55 kmph is likely along and off North Maharashtra coast and South Maharashtra-Goa coast on 28th to 2nd July. Fishermen are advised not to venture along and off the coast during above mentioned period.”

Delayed monsoon

Monsoon arrived late in Mumbai this year. A major reason being predicted for the delay is the Cyclone Biparjoy which had formed over the Arabian Sea and experienced a landfall in Gujarat earlier this month.

Rainfall across India

Not only Maharashtra, several parts of the country has been witnessing rainfall over the past few days with rains triggering flash floods and landslide in the states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh and floods in Assam. The IMD has issued a yellow Alert for Himachal Pradesh’s Shimla for Wednesday and Thursday. Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh are also going to witness heavy to very heavy rainfall in the next few days as predicted by the IMD.