Mumbai gets 294mm rain in 12 hours, breaks 46-year record for 24 hours

MUMBAI: South Mumbai was battered by heavy rain and lashing winds on Wednesday as unprecedented incidents of flooding were witnessed at several key spots with the Indian Meteorological Department’s Colaba centre recording 293.8 mm of rain in 12 hours—incidentally, the highest August rain received in a period of 24 hours since 1974.

On Wednesday, it was the island city that bore the most brunt, as IMD’s Santacruz centre recorded 103mm rain for the 12 hours ending 8.30pm, the same period in which South Mumbai received record rainfall.
Winds Topple Signages And Flatten Trees
As heavy rain hit the city on Wednesday, wind speeds in South Mumbai averaged 70-80kmph, occasionally hitting 106kmph. Their intensity could be gauged from the fact that the normal wind speed ranges between 10-15kmph in monsoon.
A series of images and videos went viral. One clip showed flooding in streets near Girgaum Chowpatty and Babulnath temple. Suraj Agarwal of Arvind Niwas building near Chowpatty said, “Even during 26/7, we had not witnessed this.” Another visual showed the flagship signage of Bombay Stock Exchange topple over and dangle. BSE CEO Ashish Chauhan tweeted they sought the fire brigade’s help to ensure the board did not fall to the ground.
A third image showed 3 collapsed cranes at JNPT lying on their side. The elevation grill of Jaslok Hospital fell, and videos surfaced of JJ Hospital being inundated for the first time in living memory. One clip showed a tree fallen over an overhead equipment wire near Charni Road station, causing sparks and flames. A garment store at Grant Road was fighting the waters that submerged its shelves.
A total of 112 trees fell, 29 in suburbs and the rest in island city. Six house collapses and 10 incidents of short circuit were reported, and some power cuts.
Train services were thrown out of gear. 300 passengers stranded in two trains near Masjid were rescued by inflatable boats by RPF, NDRF and other agencies. BMC accommodated commuters stranded at stations in civic schools. BEST diverted buses from 40 routes, while the airport reported 7 arriving flights had to abort landings before trying again. In Navi Mumbai, a 25ft-long fibre rooftop of DY Patil stadium and a metal structure supporting it came down. No one was hurt.
A downgraded yellow alert has been issued for Thursday.