Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday took stock of the state administration's preparedness in the wake of the incessant heavy rains in Mumbai and other parts of the state, including Kolhapur where the Panchganga river was flowing close to the danger mark.

A statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said Thackeray asked the authorities to remain alert and ensure citizens do not face hardships. He spoke to the authorities concerned and officials of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), it said. Mumbai city received 331.08 mm rainfall while the suburbs received 162.3 mm downpour from Wednesday till 8.30 am on Thursday. The city witnessed strong winds at a speed of 106
km per hour while elsewhere it was 70 to 80 kmph, it said. The chief minister asked the officials concerned to take up clearing of the uprooted trees on a war-footing. (PTI)

A day after heavy showers pounded Mumbai and neighbouring areas, the rain intensity reduced on Thursday morning and water receded in some flooded areas, leading to gradual resumption of rain and road transport services, officials said. However, some areas in south Mumbai, which witnessed a record rain on Wednesday, were still water-logged.

The Panchganga river water at Kolhapur in western Maharashtra crossed the warning level on Thursday morning following heavy rainfall in the area, the district disaster management cell said. Nine state highways and 25 other roads in the district have been affected due to the heavy rains, a Public Works Department official said.

On Thursday morning, water level of the Panchganga river at Rajaram weir reached 41.7 feet. The warning level at the weir is 39 feet while the danger level is 43 feet, according to Kolhapur's disaster management cell. Collector Daulat Desai has appealed to people living on the river banks to shift to safer places. (PTI)

The Colaba weather observatory in south Mumbai on Wednesday recorded its highest single-day precipitation in the last 22 years for the month of August, said an India Meteorological Department official. K S Hosalikar, deputy director general of IMD, Mumbai said the Colaba observatory received 293 mm rainfall from 8.30 am to 8.30 pm. In August 1998, the observatory had received 261.9 mm rainfall in 24 hours which was a record for the month till now, but Wednesday's rain broke it within only 12 hours. (PTI)

Palghar cops for saving 22 people Mumbai, Aug 6 (PTI) Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Thursday praised Palghar Police for saving the lives of 22 people who were stranded after heavy rains caused floods in parts of the district. Those rescued by the Palghar Police on Wednesday included a five-year-old girl, who remained atop a tree for over four hours. @Palghar_Polices Superintendent of Police Dattatreya Shinde and his colleagues saved the lives of 22 people in flood situation caused by extremely heavy rainfall," Deshmukh tweeted. "Also streamlined traffic removing roadblocks at many places. I am proud of the promptness shown by Palghar Police in work, he added. (PTI)

The Bombay High Court on Thursday adjourned its proceedings for the day as many staff members could not reach the court following incessant rains in Mumbai and neighbouring areas. Seven benches of the court were scheduled to conduct virtual hearings on Thursday. "Due to the acute shortage of staff owing to disruption in train services, the benches are unable to take up matters. Judicial proceedings for the day, thus stand suspended, a notice issued by the high court registrar V R Kachare said. All matters scheduled to be heard on Thursday will be taken up on Friday, the notice said. (PTI)

Destruction of mangroves and unplanned constructions are responsible for flooding in Mumbai every year after heavy rains, say environment activists and town planners. Mangroves absorb excess water but they are being destroyed in Mumbai in the guise of infrastructure development, city-based environmentalist Debi Goenka told PTI. "Destruction of mangroves has definitely been one of the major causes of flooding, since the land reclaimed from mangroves is now blocking the rain water from flowing out into the sea. The capacity of mangroves to absorb flood water has also reduced," he said. The biggest problem today is that government agencies which are responsible for the protection of mangroves are busy "destroying them in the guise of infrastructure development", he claimed. (PTI)

A day after heavy showers pounded Mumbai and neighbouring areas, the rain intensity reduced on Thursday morning and water receded in some flooded areas, leading to gradual resumption of rain and road transport services, officials said. However, some areas in south Mumbai, which witnessed a record rain on Wednesday, were still water-logged, they said. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted moderate to heavy rainfall in the city and suburbs and intense showers in some parts of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region in next 24 hours.

"Rains have reduced since night, but Colaba has been setting up another record for August rainfall," he tweeted. While some areas of south Mumbai were still inundated, water receded in most other parts of the city and suburbs, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said. According to BMC's update till 8 am, areas like BPT Colony at Wadala, Nair Hospital in central Mumbai, Maharshi Karve Road and Sakkar Panchayat area in south Mumbai were still water-logged. (PTI)

The heavy rain that lashed South Mumbai Wednesday led to flooding at JJ Hospital, the state’s largest government health facility. The hospital’s emergency ward, located on the ground floor was inundated, forcing patients, their family members and hospital staff to wade through ankle-deep water. The authorities later shifted patients to the wards on the upper floors. The hospital is not a Covid-19 facility.

The lobby, waiting area outside MRI/CT scan facilities, the radiology department, and superintendent’s office were also flooded. The hospital premises, right up to the front gates, were also waterlogged.  Read more here

Following torrential rainfall on Wednesday, Mumbai has clocked 2,319.7 mm rain, which is more than the season’s average rainfall – 2,260.4 mm – in the first 65 days of monsoon that spans across four months, from June to September. Last year, Mumbai rainfall had reached its seasonal tally on August 4.

In the 12 hours, ending at 8.30 pm Wednesday, Santacruz weather observatory, representative of the suburbs and Mumbai, recorded heavy rain at 103 mm, while the Colaba observatory broke the all-time record of 24-hour rain in August at 293.8 mm in the same period.

In the first five days of August, Mumbai has received 78 per cent of the month’s average rain. The Santacruz weather observatory recorded 459.3 mm rain from August 1 to 5 (until 8.30 pm). Out of which 99 per cent was recorded in the last two days when the city received extremely heavy to heavy rain. The monthly average rain for August is 585.2 mm. Read more here

Due to incessant rains in the state, Pune headquartered 5th Battalion of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has deployed 15 of its teams in Western and Coastal Maharashtra. Four teams have been deployed in Kolhapur, two teams in Sangli, and one team each in Satara, Thane, Palghar, Nagpur, and Raigad. Five of the teams have been deployed in Mumbai.

Each model team of the NDRF comprises of specialist search and rescue groups comprising of engineering, technical, electrical experts along with staff dog squads and paramedics. In cases where specific requirements arise, teams are reconfigured.