Mumbai to witness 22 high-tide days during monsoon this year

On Tuesday, during the review meeting of District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) at the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarter at CSMT, officials from the civic body and other agencies were instructed to carry out inspection of ongoing pre-monsoon works. While additional municipal commissioner Dr Sanjeev Kumar is the head of DDMA for Mumbai city, additional municipal commissioner Ashwini Bhide helms the authority for Mumbai suburb.

Data shows that the highest high tide, up to 4.87 meters, will be observed on June 4 and July 3. “During the high tides, the administration will be on alert as heavy rainfall on the same day contributes to long-term flooding in parts of the city. We have instructed ward officers concerned to ensure that all pre-monsoon works like drainage cleaning, road repairs, tree-trimming gets over in time,” said an official from BMC. In 2021, Mumbai witnessed 18 days of high tides.

The issue of people living in landslide-prone areas were also discussed in the meeting. According to officials, 72 spots have been identified as landslide-prone areas of which 45 have been marked as dangerous. As per the annual protocol, the BMC will start sending notices to people living in such areas, asking them to move to safer locations during the rains.

Besides the BMC, other agencies who are owners of the land in these landslide-prone areas are constructing retaining walls to prevent disasters. Last year, 29 people had lost their lives in two separate landslides in Vikhroli and Chembur. Following these incidents, a decision was taken to expedite the relocation of people living in vulnerable areas, and construction of retaining walls.