Maharashtra: Heavy Rainfall In Mumbai And Suburbs Over Next 24 Hours, CM Issues Alert

Mumbai and its adjoining areas witnessed a heavy downpour on Tuesday morning, and the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted moderate to heavy rain in Mumbai and its suburbs over the next 24 hours, with a possibility of very heavy showers at isolated places, civic officials said.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde directed the state administration officials to take precautions and ensure there is no loss of life or property. The Chief Minister's Office in a statement said CM Shinde is in touch with collectors of Thane, Raigad, Palghar, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts. The National Disaster Response Force (NDFR) has also been asked to remain alert.

“The situation in Mumbai is also being closely monitored,” it said.

The island city received an average 95.81 mm of rainfall in the 24-hour period ending at 8 am on Tuesday, while the eastern and western suburbs recorded 115.09 mm and 116.73 mm of rainfall, respectively, during the same period, they said.

The local train services, considered the lifeline of Mumbai, were running normally on both the Central Railway and Western Railway routes, authorities said. Over 75 lakh passengers from Mumbai and neighbouring districts travel in local trains every day.

"Trains on all corridors are running smoothly, though it's raining in the CSMT-Kurla-Thane section," the Central Railway's chief public relations officer Shivaji Sutar said.

The IMD has also predicted heavy to very heavy rain in the neighbouring Thane district for the next few days.

The Kundalika River in Raigad district, located near Mumbai, has crossed the danger mark, as per an official statement. The water level of the Amba, Savitri, Patalganga, Ulhas and Gadhi rivers was a little less than the danger mark, it said.

The NDRF has deployed two teams in coastal Konkan in Maharashtra in view of an orange alert issued by the IMD for the next five days and considering the last year's massive floods in two districts in the region, an official said on Monday.

A team of NDRF is stationed at Chiplun in the Ratnagiri district and another team at Mahad in the Raigad district.

The orange alert, predicting heavy to very heavy rains at isolated places from June 4 to June 8, has been issued for Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts.  

A yellow alert has been issued for Mumbai and Thane districts predicting heavy rains at isolated places and heavy to very heavy rains at isolated places. 

A yellow alert has also been issued for the Palghar district for the next two days and an orange alert for the three days thereafter. 

Out of the eight NDRF teams in Maharashtra, one each is stationed at Nagpur, Chiplun and Malad, while the rest five teams are in Mumbai. 

The official said that these teams have been deployed at the above locations in consultation with the local administration.

Chiplun and Mahad cities witnessed massive floods last year, prompting authorities to launch major rescue operations. Incidents of landslides were also reported. 

Meanwhile, after a break of a couple of days, heavy rains returned to Mumbai on Monday. 

According to civic officials, the island city recorded 21 mm of rainfall from 8 am to 6 pm, while the eastern and western suburbs received 17 mm and 25 mm of rainfall, respectively.

In view of the increasing rains and flood-like situation, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has held discussions with Chief Secretary Manu Kumar Srivastava. Guardian secretaries have been asked to reach their districts and monitor the situation,” the statement said. 

“Instructions have been issued that there should be no loss of life or property in view of the heavy rainfall and flood-like situation. The chief minister is in touch with collectors of all districts in the Konkan region,” it said.

Officials of the water resource department have been asked to remain alert and take necessary precautions in view of the heavy rains, it said.

People, especially in Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri and Kolhapur, where the rainfall intensity is more, should be alerted about floods in advance, the statement said.