Mumbai Under 'Yellow Alert' as Heavy Rains Lash City; Landslide in Ghatkopar

Visuals from Mumbai show heavy waterlogging in Sion and Andheri areas.

Heavy rains continued to lash Mumbai and its surrounding areas on Tuesday, 5 July, leading to waterlogging in several parts.

A landslide incident has been reported in Ghatkopar, Panchsheel Nagar amidst the heavy rains. While a house was badly damaged, no casualties have been reported so far.

Visuals emerging from Mumbai shows heavy inundation in Sion and Andheri areas, with commuters wading through the streets.

The city is expected to witness heavy rainfall on 5, 7, and 8 July. A yellow alert has been issued.

Meanwhile, as per officials, four arterial subways, namely Golibar, Milan, Andheri, and Malad were shut down in view of heavy rainfall on Tuesday.

A traffic police official said, "Motorists have been diverted to alternate routes due to the closure of these four subways at present. Rains have caused traffic snarls in several places, leading to vehicles moving at snail's pace or getting stalled for long periods."

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted "moderate to heavy rainfall" for Mumbai and its suburbs and the possibility of "very heavy to extremely heavy" showers at isolated places for the next few days.

IMD official Jayant Sarkar said that the situation was "favourable" and widespread rainfall in the next five days was expected across Maharashtra, with "heavy to very heavy rainfall in scattered areas."

Five teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed in Mumbai in view of the rains.

Eknath Shinde Directs Monitoring of Situation

Newly sworn-in Chief Minister Eknath Shinde held a discussion with officials and has directed them to keep a vigil and control the situation, as per his office.

The CMO in a statement said CM Shinde is in touch with collectors of Thane, Raigad, Palghar, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts. The National Disaster Response Force has also been asked to remain alert.

“The situation in Mumbai is also being closely monitored,” it said.

Local Trains Running as per Usual, BEST Buses Diverted

The local train services, considered the lifeline of Mumbai, were running normally on both the Central Railway and Western Railway routes, authorities said.

On the other hand, BEST (Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport) announced eight route diversions at Sion Road no 24 and Shell Colony in Chembur.

The island city received an average 95.81 mm rainfall in the 24 hour period ending at 8 am on Tuesday, while the eastern and western suburbs recorded 115.09 mm and 116.73 mm rainfall, respectively, during the same period.

Kundalika River Crosses Danger Mark, Red Alert in Raigad & Ratnagiri

As heavy rains beat down on the Konkan coast in Maharashtra, the Kundalika river in Raigad district, located near Mumbai, has crossed the danger mark, as per an official statement.

The water level of the Amba, Savitri, Patalganga, Ulhas and Gadhi rivers was a little less than the danger mark, as per the CMO.

Further, boulders fell from a hillock in Thane and a house collapsed in neighbouring Palghar following the downpour.

On Monday, a 16-feet-long security wall in Mumbra had collapsed due to the incessant rainfall in Thane. Seventeen families from the Anil Bhagat Chawl have been temporarily shifted to the Thane Municipal Corporation school.

"Isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall and thunderstorm/lightning very likely over Gujarat State, Konkan and Goa, Madhya Maharashtra, Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam, Telangana, Coastal and South Interior Karnataka, Kerala and Mahe during next 5 days," the IMD said in its forecast on Monday.

A red alert, predicting heavy to very heavy rains at isolated places from 4 June to 8 June, has been issued for Raigad, Ratnagiri, and Sindhudurg districts. A yellow alert has also been issued for Thane and Palghar districts.

Of the eight NDRF teams in Maharashtra, one each is stationed at Nagpur, Chiplun and Malad. The remaining are in Mumbai.

Chiplun and Mahad cities witnessed massive floods last year, prompting authorities to launch major rescue operations. Incidents of landslides were also reported.