Picture Courtesy : The Indian Express
People of Mumbai and adjoining region braced for another spell of heavy rains on Wednesday, a day after incessant downpour disrupted normal life in the megapolis, affecting rail, road and air traffic.
Commuters stuck at various stations since last night due to disruption of suburban train services were seen making their way home this morning as the situation improved overnight. A forecast of heavy to very heavy rainfall at few places with extremely heavy rainfall in Raigad district adjoining Mumbai is expected in the next 24 hours, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD) Mumbai.
Flights are canceled and trains are delayed as heavy rains hit Mumbai https://t.co/6PbqX0eoBx pic.twitter.com/2SuKxJo8TH
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Heavy rainfall today threw life out of gear in the maximum city. Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport has become partially operational after a few runways have become non-operational due to incessant downpour. Flight operations at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) here were affected due to low visibility in the evening, and seven flights were diverted. A SpiceJet plane carrying 183 passengers overshot a wet runway here last night while landing at the airport in rain-hit Mumbai and got stuck in the mud. The passengers were evacuated using the emergency chute of the Boeing 737. According to latest reports coming in as many as 15 flights have been cancelled and 6 International flights diverted in reports by News 18 and Indian express respectively.
Trains too have been cancelled and water logging has been witnessed in several places.
According to a PTI report, An IMD official said the Santacruz observatory recorded 225.3 mm rain from 8.30 am to 11.30 pm last night. This quantity falls under the weather category of ‘extremely heavy rain’ (204.5 mm and above), he said.
The observatory recorded over 100 mm in just three hours (5.30-8.30pm), the official added. Mumbai recorded its second highest September rain in a span of 12 hours on Tuesday, BMC officials said. The rainfall recorded at BMC’s automatic weather stations between 8 am and 10 pm included Nariman Point (88mm), Worli (110mm), Chembur (112mm), Mulund (94mm), Andheri (208mm), Bandra (128mm) and Borivli (204mm).
There is a high tide warning at 12.03 pm of 4.54 metres for Wednesday, they added. Schools and colleges in Mumbai Metropolitan Region have been instructed to remain closed today in backdrop of heavy rains. “Schools are instructed to remain close tomorrow for safety due to mixed predictions.
This holiday will be compensated in Diwali,” Maharashtra education minister Vinod Tawde said. Heavy rains coupled with thunder and lightning lashed the metropolis yesterday, slowing down movement of vehicular traffic and suburban trains, and bringing back memories of torrential downpour late last month when the financial capital came to a standstill.
