Mumbai rain highlights: IMD issues yellow alert, predicts heavy rainfall for 2 days

Many roads, houses and shops were damaged as heavy rains and cloudbursts hit several places here, officials said on Saturday, PTI reported.

No casualties have been reported in rain-related incidents so far, they said.

Uttarkashi District Magistrate Abhishek Ruhela sought information regarding the situation from the District Disaster Control Room in the early hours of Saturday, the officials said.

He also spoke to public representatives and enquired about people affected by the rains and the damage caused in their respective areas.

Heavy to very heavy rains pounded several districts in Gujarat's south and Saurashtra regions on Saturday, triggering a flood-like situation in urban areas and isolating villages amid rising water levels in dams and rivers surging to danger levels, PTI reported.

In Junagadh city, dozens of parked cars and cattle were swept away in gushing waters after it received 241 mm of rainfall in just 12 hours till 8 pm on Saturday. People were seen wading through waist-deep water to shift to safer places. Some of them were rescued by volunteers as they were carried away in strong currents.

Maharashtra Minister Shamburaj Desai on Saturday directed the police to step up night patrolling in Thane district during monsoon.

Desai, who was reviewing the rainfall and flood situation in the district, said the police were the first point of contact for people during calamities and hence, all machinery should be at hand even at night.

Collector Ashok Shingare, police commissioner Jai Jeet Singh, Thane municipal commissioner Abhijit Bangar, his Navi Mumbai counterpart Rajesh Narvekar and other senior officials and legislators attended the review meet, PTI reported.

Around 110 people stranded due to floods in Mahagaon tehsil of eastern Maharashtra's Yavatmal district were rescued on Saturday, officials said. Besides the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), an Mi-17 V5 chopper of the Indian Air Force was also pressed into service for the rescue operation at Anandnagar Tanda village, district collector Amol Yedge told PTI.

Konkan, Ghat areas of Madhya Maharashtra to expect light/moderate fairly widespread to widespread rainfall with isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall from July 23-26. Marathwada may witness rainfall today, IMD said in its latest weather forecast bulletin.

Isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall is very likely to continue over Mumbai during the next 2 days.

Furthermore, IMD warns of isolated extremely heavy rainfall over north Konkan, Madhya Maharashtra today, the Met department said. Read full report here

NDRF and other teams suspend the operation for the day. Six bodies were retrieved today taking the death toll to 27.

The death toll in the landslide at Irshalwadi hamlet in Maharashtra's Raigad district reached 27 on Saturday.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has called for a comprehensive policy for permanent rehabilitation of all landslide prone settlements in the State. He stated that the policy should be implemented irrespective of the government in place as there cannot be any politics over it.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall in isolated areas in Palghar, Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri, and Sindhudurg districts for Sunday.

The weather department has also issued a yellow alert for heavy rainfall in isolated places in Mumbai for tomorrow.

Regional Meteorological Department has predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places in several districts including Palghar, Thane, Mumbai, Raigad, Ratnagiri, and Sindhudurg.

Raigad Collector Yogesh Mhase has issued orders to ban the entry of all except government officials and employees designated to the area and rescue workers deployed at the landslide-affected Irshalgad and the base camp area. The decision has been taken to ensure there are no hurdles in the rescue work due to the crowding in the area.

Defence PRO Nagpur Wg Cdr Ratnakar Singh in a statement informed that a Mi-17 V5 helicopter is being inducted from Nagpur to evacuate people stranded due to floods in Yavatmal, PTI reported.

With heavy rains lashing Maharashtra's Yavatmal on Friday night, many residential areas in the district were inundated, and water also entered several houses on Saturday. Locals said that over 500 houses have been inundated.

"Yavatmal hasn't witnessed this amount of rainfall earlier. Water started entering people's houses at 4 am and till now over 500 houses have been submerged," Sujit Rai, one of the residents said, ANI reported.

The India Meteorological Department in its latest weather forecast said, Light/moderate fairly widespread to widespread rainfall with isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall very likely to continue over Konkan & Goa, ghat areas of Madhya Maharashtra from July 23-26; over Marathwada on today; over Saurashtra & Kutch on July 24; over Gujarat Region on July 23.

Isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall is very likely to continue over Mumbai during the next 2 days.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis tweeted, “About 45 people are trapped in Anandnagar Tanda in Mahagao taluk of Yavatmal district due to flood water. We are constantly in touch with the local administration and now within an hour 2 helicopters of the Indian Air Force will reach Nagpur and immediately leave for Mahagav to evacuate the trapped citizens. About 231 mm of rain has occurred here. My colleague Madanbhau Yerawar is also in touch. We are monitoring the situation.”

The death toll in the landslide at Irshalwadi hamlet in Maharashtra's Raigad district reached 26 on Saturday with the search and rescue teams recovering four more bodies from the debris, an official said. The bodies of three women and one man were recovered during the day, the official of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) said, PTI reported.

People living in landslide-prone areas in Maharashtra should be moved to safer locations, said Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday amid an ongoing rescue operation to look for survivors at Irshalwadi in Raigad district.

Talking to reporters after meeting the residents of Irsahlwadi, where at least 25 people have died in a landslide, the former chief minister said he had planned a scheme to rehabilitate villages residing in landslide-prone areas to safer places.

“Not just Irsahlwadi. All such localities should be rehabilitated in nearby villages or areas,” he said.

After closing the subway due to waterlogging and heavy rainfall, Andheri Subway has been opened for traffic, said Mumbai traffic Police in a tweet on Saturday. Notably, the subway was closed yesterday due to waterlogging and the traffic was diverted towards SV Road.

Mumbai recorded this season’s heaviest rainfall spell in a span of 24 hours on Saturday morning with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) data showing that the figure crossed the 200-mm mark during the period between 8.30 am on Friday and 8.20 am on Saturday.

The average rainfall in Mumbai Metropolitan yesterday (21.07.2023), from 8 am to today (22.07.203) 8 am is:

➡️Mumbai City- 82.89 mm.

➡️Eastern Suburbs- 148.40 mm.

➡️Western Suburbs- 122.30 mm.

Due to heavy rains in Thane district, Thane Ghodbunder roads are in bad condition. All these roads are newly built roads after the orders of the Chief Minister in month of May 2023

Chief minister Eknath Shinde has decided to adopt the orphans of the victims of Irshalwadi landslide victims. The education and other expenses of the children till they attain adulthood will be taken care of.

Maharashtra State Legislative Council Deputy chairperson Neelam Gorhe who visited Nadhal village in the area along with Shiv Sena leaders on Saturday made the announcement.

Gorhe said, “Around 22 orphans will benefit from the decision of the sensitive chief minister.”