Heavy rain alert in Mumbai; schools closed in three Maharashtra districts. Top points

Mumbai is predicted to receive heavy rain on Friday. The weather body also issued a ‘red’ alert for four districts, Thane, Raigad, Pune, and Palghar.

Amid continuous heavy downpour in parts of Maharashtra, the India Meteorological Department issued a rainfall warning Thursday, detailing the weather situation during the next five days. The capital city Mumbai was put on ‘orange’ alert for Friday as heavy rainfall is anticipated in the city and suburbs, the weather body said.

Due to heavy rains, the Thane Upvan lake has started to overflow�, in Mumbai, India, on,Thursday. ( Praful Gangurde / HT Photo )

A ‘red’ alert has been issued for four districts, Thane, Raigad, Pune, and Palghar as these areas may experience up to very heavy rainfall till Saturday. The weather warning also prompted authorities to declare a school holiday Palghar and Thane, while deploy National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams in six districts to mitigate the impact of rain-related damages. (LIVE updates)

In view of the situation, the state government issued an advisory Thursday, urging people not to step out of their homes unnecessarily. “…With a possibility of heavy rain, the state government appeals to the citizens to not to go out, unless there is a very important work,” the CMO's office tweeted.

Top updates on Maharashtra rain:

1)Six NDRF teams have been deployed to deal with torrential rains in Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Kolhapur, and Sangli. In landslide-hit Raigad, where at least 16 people died Thursday, IMD issued an ‘orange’ alert till July 25. The NDRF will resume its rescue operations in a landslide at Raigad's Irshalwadi village as over 100 people are still feared trapped under debris and loose soil. Meanwhile, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams were deployed in Gadchiroli and Nanded.

2) The weather situation is expected to improve in the next three to four days in Mumbai, Thane and Palghar. Mumbai's civic body Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporations said the city received an average of 27.50 mm rainfall in the last 24 hours, as recorded on 8 am Friday.

3)Other than Thane and Palghar, a total of 355 schools in Pune's hilly regions, including Ambegaon, Khed, Junnar, Bhor, Purandar, Mulshi and Maval talukas will also remain closed on Friday in the view of the weather situation.

4)The officials said Vashishti and Jagbudi rivers in Ratnagiri, along with Kundalika, Amba, Savitri and Patalganga rivers in Raigad are flowing above the danger line. Kolhapur's Panchganga River is also nearing the flood line. The officials have issued warnings for the villages nearby coastal areas because of the high tide.

5)As of now, none of the districts were put on red alert for Saturday, however, Palghar, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Pune, and Satara remained on ‘orange’ alert.