NEW DELHI, July 18: At least 25 people are killed and about a dozen others injured in heavy rains that lashed Mumbai since Saturday night. Among those who lost their lives, 23 were killed in landslides in Mahaul and Vikhroli, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.
One person died in Bhandup due to a house collapse and in Andheri, one person lost his life due to short circuit.
Heavy rains lashed Mumbai on Saturday night, resulting in landslides which further triggered wall collapse in some areas of the city and its nearby areas. The heavy overnight showers led to waterlogging in several areas of the metropolis, bringing it to a grinding halt.
Landslides lead to deaths of 17 people in Mahaul while five others were injured. Six people lost their lives in Vikhroli while one person was injured. Incessant heavy downpour overnight during a major thunderstorm pummeled Mumbai, causing severe water logging and traffic disruptions in the financial capital on Sunday.
Mumbai recorded over 250 mm of rain in just three hours (between midnight and 3am), touching 305 mm by 7 am on Sunday, a meteorologist said. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said Mumbai was placed under a red alert, “indicating heavy to very heavy rainfall with extremely heavy rainfall at isolated locations” for the rest of the day.
Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray held a high-level meeting with officials over the rain situation in Mumbai, the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) announced.
The state tourism minister Aaditya Thackeray, he chief minister’s son, visited the affected locations and took stock of the relief works being undertaken by various agencies. Later, he took to Twitter to announce that the state government and BMC are providing all necessary financial and medical assistance to those affected.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) turned its “orange” alert for Mumbai to “red” following heavy rains. The weather body has forecast “heavy” to “very heavy” rainfall at some places, with “extremely” heavy rainfall at isolated places.
Nine flights were diverted from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) as operations were suspended temporarily between 12:42am to 5:24am, media reports said quoting airport authorities. Flight operations resumed from 5:24am onwards and are proceeding as per schedule, it added.
Central Railways said 11 trains were short terminated, six were cancelled, three short-originated and nine were rescheduled.
(Manas Dasgupta)
