Woes rain in Mumbai, downpour brings city to its knees

MUMBAI: Mumbai came to a standstill on Tuesday as heavy rains accompanied by strong winds lashed the city, reviving memories of a similar night of terror in July 2005 when severe flooding caused death and destruction on a large scale.

Parts of the maximum city received rainfall of over 200 mm forcing arterial roads to be shut and train services to be suspended. The Bandra-Worli sea link, which was shut due to waterlogging, was reopened late in the evening. The Mumbai-Pune expressway, which connects the bustling megalopolis with the hinterland, was closed too.

Airport operations were shut due to poor visibility but services resumed later in the evening. Schools and offices closed earlier but financial markets and banks functioned normally. The government has announced a holiday for schools and colleges on Wednesday.


According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, the city recorded more than 200 mm of rainfall in 5 to 6 hours in 6 places in the city. The weather bureau classifies rainfall between 15.6 mm and 64 mm as ‘moderate’, 64.5-115.5 mm as ‘heavy’,115.6-204 mm as ‘very heavy’ and more than 204.5 mm as ‘extreme’.

In fact, six spots in Mumbai got rainfall that was more than extreme. Parel, where glitzy office complexes and five-star hotels sit cheek-by-jowl with worker chawls, received 240 mm. The weather office is expecting heavy rains on Wednesday too. The huge amount of rainfall was caused by a deep depression over South Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, weathermen explained.

The local trains, considered to be the lifeline of Mumbai, were stalled by Tuesday afternoon in all the three lines as the tracks were submerged under more than a feet deep water in many places.

Roads were flooded submerging many vehicles completely at places.

The Maharashtra government issued an advisory asking people not to venture out of their homes and avoid travelling in flooded roads.

Many offices and schools decided to have a half day so that the employees and children could leave early. But thousands of people were left stranded as there was simply no means of transport in the city.

Power services in parts of Sion, Dadar and Parel were disrupted for a while as water levels rose alarmingly.

The runways at the Mumbai airport were intermittently closed throughout the day due to poor visibility, affecting flight schedules. Many flights were delayed and several diverted. Mumbai is India’s second busiest airport by number of passengers handled.

Mumbai airport’s cargo hold area too was submerged in ankle-deep water, wetting and spoiling several consignments worth millions, said an executive at a top express logistics company on condition of anonymity. A spokesperson at the airport said cargo operations didn’t stop, but refused to elaborate further.

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis visited the disaster management department and reviewed the relief and rescue efforts. He coordinated with both the BMC Disaster Management cell and the Mumbai police over hotline and asked the Mantralaya staff to leave early. “We are periodically giving weather advisories. The trains would start running when the rains abate. The BMC is working since morning to pump out water from the stations,” Fadnavis said.

Three teams of the National Disaster Response Force are on standby in Mumbai and two are arriving from Pune. Neighbouring Thane also witnessed heavy rains.

In fact many in Thane said that the situation was more worrying than Mumbai as the water level was rising alarmingly. It rained six inches in just one hour in Thane and the weather bureaus predictions of more rains is worrying the civic administration.