Mumbai saw a fierce burst of seasonally unprecedented heavy rain on Monday, causing widespread disruption throughout the city. The monsoon, which is still yet to kick in officially, has already issued parts of Maharashtra a Red Alert by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), warning of very heavy rain.
Over the past 24 hours, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) listed 79 rain-related incidents, which illustrate the extent of the damage. These included 45 tree falls, nine structural collapses, and 25 fire incidents, the latter of which were predominantly the result of short circuits due to electricity.
One of the most significant accidents was near St. Xavier's College in Fort area of South Mumbai, where a 24-year-old man was wounded by a falling tree. He was admitted to St. George Hospital and is said to be stable.
Another critical incident occurred on Cadell Road in Mahim West, where a section of a two-storey residential building collapsed. Thankfully, both people trapped under the rubble were rescued without major injuries.
Throughout the city, fallen trees clogged roads, resulting in massive traffic jams and destruction of parked vehicles. To this end, civic authorities have warned people to avoid flood-hit areas and weak buildings during heavy rain periods.
According to the BMC's Tuesday morning weather forecast, Mumbai and its suburbs will have a mostly cloudy sky, with moderate to heavy rains, thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds at scattered places.
Rainfall totals of last 24 hours indicate 106 mm in Mumbai city, 63 mm in eastern suburbs, and 72 mm in western suburbs. Tidal movements are also likely to increase substantially, with a high tide of 4.88 metres at 12:13 p.m. and 4.18 metres at 11:56 p.m. forecasted.
The IMD has been put out a Red Alert for Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Kolhapur, and Satara, predicting very heavy rainfall here. An Orange Alert, which means heavy to very heavy rain, has been issued for Raigad, Pune, Beed, Hingoli, Nanded, and Parbhani.
Mumbai and its neighboring districts such as Thane, Nashik, Jalgaon, Sangli, and Jalna are at present under Yellow Alert, meaning the potential for moderate to heavy rain.
Emergency response units have been put on standby throughout the region, and local governments are monitoring the developing situation. People have been told to monitor official weather forecasts and listen to safety guidelines released by disaster management authorities.
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