Mumbai records 230 mm of rainfall in 10 hours; low-lying areas evacuated

Mumbai records 230 mm of rainfall in 10 hours; low-lying areas evacuated

The commissioner also said that over 163 water pumps have been deployed by the BMC to clear out the rainwater from different parts of the city

Mumbai had been experiencing heavy rainfall for the few weeks but now the situation seems to have taken a turn for the worse. On Tuesday, Mumbai registered 230 mm of rainfall within 10 hours, according to Iqbal Singh Chahal, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner. He also said that because of the intense rainfall a flood-like situation has been created in major parts of the city.

"The downpour started around 7 pm last night and slowed down around five to six am today morning. In the 10-hour downpour, 230 mm of rainfall was recorded in Mumbai. The Mithi river had swelled up in the morning because of the heavy rains and went above the prescribed danger mark of 27 meters. In the morning it had gone up to 34 meters and we had started to evacuate people in the low-lying slum areas. The water levels have come down to 24, so we have ceased evacuation for now," Chahal told ANI.

The commissioner also said that over 163 water pumps have been deployed by the BMC to clear out the rainwater from different parts of the city.

"In the saucer-shaped areas of the city like Hindmata, King's Circle, Milan and Andheri Subway, we cannot use the pumps till the water levels reach a certain level. As soon as the water levels reached the limit, we started to clear it out with the pumps. We are currently using 163 pumps to clear out the rainwater in these low-lying areas," he added.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has also said that between 8:30 am and 11:30 am on Tuesday, Colaba and Santacruz recorded 6 mm and 19 mm of rain respectively. Thane recorded 16 mm of rainfall.

The rainfall is expected to continue for the next few hours. "Intense to very intense rainfall likely to continue in many parts of Mumbai during next 3 hours," the IMD wrote on Twitter.