Red alert stays on as rains batter Mumbai

Thursday was yet another day of heavy rains with triple digit rainfall causing many low-lying areas in Mumbai and other parts of MMR (Mumbai Metropolitan Region) to go down under water.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) upgraded the city from an orange to a red alert as rains continue to batter the city. The IMD has predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall until Friday while the state government issued a notice for schools to stay shut amid the downpour. Mumbai’s island city, eastern and western suburbs received an average rainfall of 50.87 mm, 32.13 mm and 23.55 mm, respectively, from 8 am to 1 pm on Thursday. In the 24-hour period ending at 8.30 am on Thursday, the Colaba observatory (representative of the island city) recorded “extremely heavy” rainfall at 223.2 mm, while the Santacruz observatory (representative of suburbs) recorded 145.1 mm rainfall, according to the IMD Mumbai.
In Mumbai, trains on the central line from CST are running 10-15 minutes late due to waterlogging in Kalyan. Incessant rainfall has also caused waterlogging in Byculla, Trombay, Kandivali, Kalbadevi, Dahisar, Matunga, DN Nagar and Oshiwara regions of Mumbai. The upgraded Mumbai to a red alert from orange as heavy rains lash the city. The heavy downpour is likely to continue for two days, the IMD added.
Meanwhile in the Kohlapur district, the water level of the Panchganga river has crossed the warning mark, officials said on Thursday. Residents of six villages located on the river banks have been asked to shift to safer places, they said. As per the district disaster cell, the level of the Panchganga river at Rajaram weir was at 40.6 feet at 11 am on Thursday. The warning mark at the weir is 39 feet and the danger mark is 43 feet. A total of 81 bunds (barrages) in the district have got submerged due to the rains, the district administration said. On Wednesday, five automated gates of the upstream Radhanagari dam were opened following which the water discharge increased. As a result, the water level of the Panchganga and other rivers started increasing, it said.