Mumbai: Mumbaikars woke up to heavy rains and waterlogged roads on Thursday morning, giving a glimpse of the situation that could arise on weekend when the MeT department has predicted "heavy to very heavy rainfall" along the Maharashtra coast.
The weather department has also said that monsoon is set to arrive in Mumbai in the next 48 to 72 hours.
According to news agency ANI, the inclement weather has led to diversion of Jet airways London-Mumbai flight (9W-117) to Ahmedabad, while trains on Central Railway have been delayed by 15 minutes. The Western Railway authorities have warned commuters not to use the service if rain is over 70 mm. However, no delay or diversion has been reported on this line so far.
On the other hand, residents boarding buses may face inconvenience as Mumbai's BEST vehicles have been affected on King circle, Sion Road no. 24.
Waterlogging in Sion, a crucial station on central line (News18)
#MumbaiRains : Mumbai-Ahmedabad, Mumbai-London flights have been diverted in wake of the hefty showers. #MumbaiMonsoon #Mumbaitraffic pic.twitter.com/PwQFu1Ebyd— SkymetWeather (@SkymetWeather) June 7, 2018
Central Railway authorities said they will take a call on whether to curtail services in case of heavy rains to ensure commuters are not stranded. "If it rains beyond 70 mm, then it will be difficult to run trains," railway manager S K Jain said.
Hindmata in Parel was completely logged after a couple of hours of rains, while Andheri, Chembur, Matunga received heavy showers in the early hours with thunder and lightning. Private weather company Skymet said that SantaCruz observatory has recorded 37 mm in the last three hours even as showers continue over the city.
A man rides a bike on a waterlogged road in Mumbai (News18)
Mahesh Palawat of Skymet said that heavy rains are expected in next three-four days. "However, the scenario will not be like the spell on July 26, 2005 when Mumbai recorded 900 mm in a day," he added.
Heavy to very heavy spells of #rain and #thundershowers, are expected to occur over #Kolhapur, #Mumbai Suburban, Palghar, #Pune, Raigarh, Ratnagiri, Sangli, Satara, Sindhudurg and Thane between June 8 and 11. #Maharashtra #weatheralert @CMOMaharashtra— SkymetWeather (@SkymetWeather) June 7, 2018
Deputy Director General of the MeT department KS Hosalikar clarified that the monsoon has yet not arrived in the financial capital. "The rains in Mumbai and adjoining areas since morning are pre-monsoon showers. Though, the monsoon has arrived up to Goa. In the next 24 hours, it will reach southern Maharashtra (Konkan) and in the next 48 to 72 hours, it's expected to reach Mumbai," he said, adding that the updated bulletin on monsoon will be issued late on Thursday.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) administration has taken a number of precautionary measures to tackle any eventuality in view of extremely heavy rainfall warning by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) from June 9 to 11, a statement issued by the civic body said.
"Leaves of all the senior officials, including Deputy Municipal commissioners (DMCs), Assistant Commissioners (AMCs) and heads of departments have been cancelled and they have been directed to be available in their headquarters on June 9 and 10 (Saturday and Sunday)," it said.
On the steps being taken, the BMC said three teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) will be stationed at Parel, Mankhurd (for eastern suburbs) and Andheri Sports Complex (for western suburbs). They are equipped with walkie-talkies and flood rescue material.
Meanwhile, the South West Monsoon has become active over Kerala with heavy rains lashing the southern state since Wednesday night. Widespread rains are likely to continue in the state in the next five days, said Dr K Santosh, in-charge Indian Meteorological Department in Thiruvananthapuram.
Fishermen have been warned that strong winds with speed reaching 35-45 km per hour gusting to 50 kmph is likely to hit the Kerala and Lakshadweep coast in the next 24 hours from 2 pm on Thursday.
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