Heavy rains batter Mumbai; Andheri, Colaba, Sion, Chembur among worst affected areas, IMD predicts more rainfall till Thursday

Heavy rains lashed Mumbai’s Western suburb on Wednesday, leading to water-logging and traffic woes in several areas and affecting train services on the central line. In the city’s Andheri area, eight people were injured after three cars collided due to low visibility early on Wednesday morning.

Mumbai: 8 injured after three cars collided with each other in Andheri, due to low visibility following heavy rainfall in the city, early morning today. #Maharashtra pic.twitter.com/Ts2srOqxd3

— ANI (@ANI) July 24, 2019

The India Met Department has predicted that heavy rains will continue to batter the city till Thursday. Last few week Mumbai witnessed very scant rainfall.

On Wednesday, waterlogging was reported in areas around Sion, Andheri, Hindmata, Chembur, Govandi, and Mankhurd. Road traffic was also affected in these areas. Several residents shared traffic updates on social media to spread awareness about the situation.

"Heavy rain causes waterlogging near Sion station in Mumbai"
Sion station is so vulnerable to the rains, come the smallest spell of heavy rains, the first area to flood is Sion station itself. We have been observing this since our childhood. https://t.co/54LlbshHnP

— Sahadev Jennu (@jennu_sahadev) July 24, 2019

#MumbaiRains #dahisar pic.twitter.com/xURvpBN1EE

— Ankit Gala (@ankitgala619) July 24, 2019

On Wednesday evening, intermittent spells of heavy showers were received in several parts of Mumbai and its suburbs. Earlier, the official Twitter account for the Central Railway divisional railway manager said that suburban train services are running on all four corridors of Central Railway, but some trains services on main line are delayed by 10 to 15 minutes. Services on the Western line were largely unaffected throughout the day. Skymet Weather vice-president Mahesh Palawat tweeted that intense thunder clouds were over Mumbai and its suburbs. “Heavy rain to continue for next few hours. Intensity may go down by tomorrow (Thursday) but, moderate with one or two heavy spells are possible,” he said.

Intense #thunder clouds are seen over #Mumbai and suburbs. Heavy #rain to continue for next few hours. Intensity may go down by tomorrow but, moderate with one or two heavy spells are possible. #MumbaiRainsLive #MumbaiRain @SkymetWeather pic.twitter.com/sw7to5BS8v

— Mahesh Palawat (@Mpalawat) July 24, 2019

On Tuesday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a warning of heavy rainfall for the city, stating that a cyclonic circulation was likely to bring more showers to the city over Wednesday and Thursday. Additionally, Raigad and Ratnagiri districts in Maharashtra have been warned of extremely heavy rainfall in isolated places on both the days, reports said.

“A cyclonic circulation is being developed near Mumbai, which will bring more showers to the city. The city has received hardly any showers in the last two to three days but the situation is changing. There will be more showers in the coming days, an IMD official was quoted by PTI as saying.

Maharashtra: Water logging in parts of Mumbai following rainfall; visuals from Gandhi Market in Sion. pic.twitter.com/ytfG043xIt

— ANI (@ANI) July 24, 2019

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is reportedly on alert as the IMD observatory in Colaba recorded 171 millimetres of rainfall in a duration of less than 12 hours, which falls under the forecast agency’s category of “very heavy rainfall”,  The Times of India reported.

#MumbaiRains: Traffic diversion update by @mybmc #MumbaiRains #MumbaiRain pic.twitter.com/knyhP0hj9P

— Skymet (@SkymetWeather) July 24, 2019

The visibility at the Mumbai airport had also dropped, Skymet reported , adding that flight delays and diversions are likely on Wednesday.

With inputs from agencies