After a two-day delay, the heavy rains forecast by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) for Sunday hit the city on Tuesday afternoon, affecting peak-hour rail traffic, temporarily halting airport operations, slowing down vehicular traffic and bringing back memories of the August 29 downpour that had halted the city in its tracks.
The weather stations at Santa Cruz and Colaba recorded 137 mm and 142 mm of rainfall respectively. The BMC disaster management control room said no major cases of waterlogging or flooding were reported as of 7.30 p.m. The western and eastern suburbs received 43.83 m.m. and 52.99 mm correspondingly, BMC said.
In a statement, the Education Minister’s office said all educational institutions will remain closed on Wednesday, for students’ safety.
A Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) spokesperson said runway operations were suspended between 6.49 p.m. and 7.16 p.m after visibility dropped to less than 400m and went down to 250m.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) said seven Mumbai-bound flights were diverted to Hyderabad (one), Vadodara (one) and Ahmedabad (five) during this period. Later, both runways were closed, and the main runway will be unavailable till 10 a.m. on Wednesday, a Note To Airmen (NOTAM) said.
Dr. Niharika Mathreja, 28, who was travelling to Dubai on an Indigo Airlines flight, said, “I am inside the aircraft since for one-and-a-half hours. It was scheduled to take off at 7.40 p.m.. The pilot said visibility was poor.”
The Colaba observatory said the north Konkan region, including Mumbai and neighbouring areas, is expected to receive more rainfall. Civic officers said South Mumbai, Borivali, Kandivili, Andheri and Bhandup received heavy rainfall. The IMD has predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall irregularly over Mumbai in the next 48 hours, but ruled out further cyclonic development over the State.
K.S. Hosalikar, Deputy Director-General (western region), IMD, said, “The intensity of clouds over Mumbai is high and wind are northerly. Besides there is an active weather system along the Arabian sea as well along the coast. This is also likely to give the city significant rains.”
The north-western winds brought thunderclouds from Arabian Sea which caused the rains over Maharashtra. Intermittent showers continued till late in the night as a result of cyclonic circulation that shifted over North Coastal Maharashtra, showed Skymet Weather.
Local trains on the Harbour Line between Vile Parle and Santa Cruz stations came to a halt between 2.45 p.m. and 3.15 p.m. after a tree fell on the overhead lines at Vile Parle. A.K. Jain, PRO, Central Railway said, “The services were resumed after the railway staff removed the obstruction. Suburban trains are running a bit late, but there has been no cancellation till now.” Western Railway reported a 15-minute delay in services due to signal failures at Bandra and Vasai.
The BMC Fire Department said three trees fell in the western suburbs between Bandra and Borivali, and two more between Dadar and Colaba, but there were no casualties.
The hashtag MumbaiRains was trending on Twitter, with users raising concerns over possible flooding and posting pictures of low visibility due to the rains. A video on social media showed the cladding of Le Pappilon building on Mount Mary Road, Bandra falling off due to strong winds.
The police control room reported water logging at several areas, including at Mithibai College junction, near Santacruz BEST depot, Veera Desai Road, Milan Subway, Chakala (below metro station) and Kurla. Instances of vehicles breaking down on the Eastern Freeway near Wadala, Andheri subway and Andheri Western Urban Road were reported.
According to the BMC, a landslide occurred in Bhandup, damaging a ground floor residence and injuring two people. “The injured are now out of danger, and their state is stable,” Tanaji Kamble, Deputy Public Relation Officer, BMC said.
With the weather department forecasting more rain, the civic administration and other agencies have geared up to tackle any eventuality and keep the city afloat. Their efforts had failed to alleviate the common man’s misery during last month’s downpour, inviting sharp criticism from citizens.
SpiceJet flight skids
All 183 passengers on a Varanasi-Mumbai SpiceJet flight had a miraculous escape when the plane landed at 10.05 p.m. but overshot the runway and got stuck in the loose soil at the end of the main runway. As an emergency was declared and flight operations to and from Mumbai came to a halt, passengers were evacuated using the escape slides and had to spend about 10 minutes next to the stranded aircraft before an airport coach arrived and took them to the terminal building. Passengers suffered minor injuries during evacuation.
Vile Parle resident Ojas Doshi (33) , who was returning home after attending a seminar in Varanasi, said, “There was a sudden jerk and the plane came to a jarring halt, which is when we learned that the plane had overshot the runway and come to a stop in the muck created by the rain. There was also some smoke from the landing gear. We jumped out of the emergency exit.”
Mr. Doshi said that all the passengers are now waiting in the terminal to reclaim their luggage, which was abandoned on the flight in the panic.
The passengers' troubles are far from over even after getting their luggage back, as cabs are in short supply due to the rains and many might be stranded for hours. A Mumbai International Ltd (MIAL) spokesperson said that arrangements was being made to provide all necessary assistance to the affected passengers.
In a statement, SpiceJet said, “SpiceJet flight, a Boeing 737 registered as VT-SGZ, operating flight SG 703 from Varanasi to Mumbai, with 183 passengers landed on Runway 27 in Mumbai. During landing the aircraft overshot the runway and skidded off into the unpaved surface due to wet runway conditions caused due to heavy rains. All passengers deplaned safely and taken to the arrival hall.”