Deluge inundates Mumbai, more heavy rain to hit state; IMD sounds orange alert

There were intense showers across the city on Tuesday, with the base weather station in Santacruz recording 124.2mm of rain in just eight hours between 8:30am and 5:30pm, as opposed to 21mm in the preceding 24 hours.

There will be no let up in heavy downpours over Mumbai till this weekend, and some places could even receive rainfall in excess of 200mm in a day, the India Meteorological Department predicted on Tuesday.

Vehicles wade through waterlogged road due to incessant rain at Kurla, in Mumbai on Tuesday. (Satish Bate/HT PHOTO)

The rains will decrease in intensity for a short period between July 6 and 7, but pick up once again around July 8, when a fresh low-pressure area is expected to form in the Bay of Bengal, the weather office said.

“There may be a little relief over the next two days, but out of an abundance of caution, we have sounded an orange alert so that civic and disaster relief authorities can remain on standby in case any evacuation or other interventions are required,” said KS Hosalikar, head of the weather bureau’s surface instrument division in Pune.

“It is advised for everyone to check local conditions before venturing out in rough weather,” Hosalikar said.

There were intense showers across the city on Tuesday, with the base weather station in Santacruz recording 124.2mm of rain in just eight hours between 8:30am and 5:30pm, as opposed to 21mm in the preceding 24 hours. The coastal station of Colaba received 117.4mm of rain in the same period, compared with 13mm in the prior 24 hours. In the eight hours ended 5:30pm on Monday, Santacruz received 153.3mm of rain, while Colaba received 48.6mm.

Rainfall between 64.5mm and 115.5mm in 24 hours is considered heavy, and between 115.6mm and 204.4mm is very heavy. Over 204.5 mm is considered extremely heavy rain, and over 300 mm is exceptionally heavy rain.

Tuesday’s downpours were enough to finally balance out the city’s monsoon deficit, which stood at 47% on June 23. However, with a total seasonal rainfall of 885.8mm since June 1 till 5:30pm on Tuesday), Mumbai’s base weather station has recorded 22% more rain than the normal 720mm up to July 5.

The entire Konkan coast was battered by rain on Tuesday under the impact of four major weather developments.

“One, there is a low-pressure area which has entered somewhere in Madhya Pradhesh, which has strengthened an offshore monsoon trough running from coastal Gujarat to coastal Maharashtra. The trough is south of its normal position which puts the entire Konkan in a favourable spot to receive rain,” said Jayanta Sarkar, head of the weather office’s regional Mumbai centre. “Lastly, there is a huge surge in westerly winds, which are carrying moisture from over the sea and dumping it onto the west coast.”

Maharashtra made up its rainfall deficit for the season, clocking 227.9mm of rain as against the normal 260mm, averaged across all meteorological subdivisions.

Lanja in Ratnagiri district recorded exceptionally heavy rainfall on Tuesday afternoon at 342mm in 24 hours. Several other parts of the Konkan received heavy to extremely rainfall early Tuesday, including Palghar (118mm), Talasari (119mm), Mahad (188mm), Mangaon (230mm), Tala (245mm), Panvel (172.2mm), Ambernath (188mm) and Kalyan (194mm).

The intensity of rain picked up after 8.30pm on Monday, and most of the intense showers had taken place during the night, averting greater public inconvenience, officials said.

Another monsoon surge is expected over the Konkan, as the remnants of the current low pressure area over Madhya Pradesh is expected to emerge over the Arabian Sea. Simultaneously, another low-pressure area will form over the Bay of Bengal around July 8.

As a result of the push and pull effect that these twin systems will have on winds and moisture, heavy rains are likely in Mumbai and neighbouring areas.

“Following a heavy downpour on July 5, Mumbai metropolitan region will get a breather on July 6 and 7, as the rainfall intensity as well as accumulation would reduce to a light to moderate category,” said Akshay Deoras, an independent meteorologist at the University of Reading in the UK, who tracks the southwest monsoon. “Local authorities must utilise this window to prepare for the next enhanced rain spell from 8 July, which could extend into early next week.”

Maharashtra experienced heavy rainfall in many districts on Tuesday. There was flood-like situation in around six districts, where local administrations were put on high alert. The state has shifted around 3,500 residents from landslide and flood-prone areas to secure places.

The situation was reviewed by chief minister Eknath Shinde, who directed the administration of Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg and Kolhapur districts to be on alert and take preventive measures in case of floods. Shinde has also asked the state administration to monitor the situation in Mumbai, which has been witnessing heavy rainfall since Monday.

“We have shifted 3,500 people to safe places following heavy rainfall in many parts of the state. I have spoken with collectors of Raigad, Ratnagiri, Thane, Kolhapur, Sangli, Amravati district and have asked them to be on alert. However, the rainfall situation has changed since Tuesday morning as it has been reduced and water level is also subsiding at most of the places,” the chief minister said after reviewing the flood situation in Mumbai at Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation headquarters on Tuesday evening.

The state has deployed five teams of the National Disaster Relief Force in Mumbai, two teams in Thane and Kolhapur and one team each in Palghar, Raigad and Ratnagiri. This was done after the weather office issued a red alert for Raigad, Ratnagiri, Satara and Kolhapur districts for the next four days.

It has also issued an orange alert for Mumbai, Paghar, Thane Pune, Nashik and Sindhdurg for the next 3-4 days. The state has also deployed one team each of the State Disaster Relief Force in Nanded and Gadchiroli.

Shinde directed chief secretary Manukumar Srivastava to ask guardian secretaries to visit their concerned districts to undertake mitigation measures swiftly. Secretaries handling various departments in the Mantralaya are also given responsibility of a district as guardian secretary.

“Even if rainfall was heavy, there is no floods in Raigad district. Kundalika and Savitri rivers are flowing below danger level,” an officer of state disaster management authority said on condition of anonymity. “But as a preventive measure, we have shifted 1,543 people residing in landslide and flood prone areas of Poladpur, Mahad and Mangaon to secure places as IMD has predicted extremely heavy rainfall,”

In the last 24 hours, 152mm rainfall was recorded in Ratnagiri district and Jagbudi, Shastri, Kalji and Kodwali rivers were flowing above the danger mark. The district administration has moved 479 people from flood and landslide prone areas to safer places. As a preventive measure, traffic on Parshuram Ghat of Mumbai Goa Highway has been shut since Monday night, officials said.

Over 400 families were shifted to safer places in Amravati district on Sunday. “Water was logged in Morshi and Chandur Bazar areas owing to heavy rainfall which coincided with release of water from Purna Dam,” said Pavneet Kaur, district collector, Amravati. “Now the water has subsided in both the areas, but it has started rising in Bhatkuli area, where 60 families have been moved to safe places.”