Greater risk of flooding on 7 neap tide days this monsoon, says BMC

These seven days are over and above the 24 high tide days when sea levels are expected to be more than 4.5 metres.

High tide days aside, Mumbaiites will also have to watch out for seven neap tide days during the monsoon — June 7, July 7, August 19 and 20, and September 17, 18 and 19 — in order to avoid water-logging woes and the risk of accidents.

People wade through a waterlogged street in Mumbai on August 29, 2017. (HT Photo)

For the first time, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has released a list of neap tide days when the difference between low and high tides is not much and the discharge of storm water into the sea is very slow. Similar to the effects of high tide days (when the sea level is above 4.5m), neap tide days can also lead to excessive flooding. There are seven neap tide days and 24 high tide days this monsoon.

“Along with the high tide days, BMC has also circulated a list of neap tide days to the traffic police, fire brigade and other agencies to help them be better prepared,” said a civic official from the disaster management department. The list is formulated in the backdrop of last year’s August 29 deluge which had caught the agencies unaware. The 333mm of rainfall, along with the neap tide had led to excessive flooding; claiming 14 lives and 12 were missing.

In the probe report of gastroenterologist Dr Deepak Amarapurkar’s death, the BMC had pointed out that on August 29, when the doctor fell into a manhole and died, the neap tide had caused prolonged and heavy flooding.

In a meeting with railway authorities earlier this month, the civic body has also listed 43 culverts between Churchgate and Dahisar to be monitored and introduced remedial measures to be taken in case of flooding. On August 29, water logging at Kurla, Sion and Matunga had paralysed the local train services on the Central Railway. 70 local trains on the Western Railway were cancelled and services were halted due to water logging at Bandra station. The BMC has asked railways to complete all construction work before monsoon.