Mumbai rains: Heavy showers drench city, disrupt morning commute

Mumbaikars woke up to a rainsoaked Monday morning with traffic slowing down during the office rush hour due to waterlogging in lowlying areas across the city and suburbsAfter heavy showers overnight and in the morning water accumulated on tracks at Kurla station on the Central Railway route and Bandra on the Western Railway network The local trains were running with some delays as per officialsThe heavy downpour which began around midnight with lightning and thunder continued in the morning leading to inundation of lowlying areas like Kings Circle and other areas as per civic officialsThe waterfilled potholes further worsened the road traffic conditionsThe downpour disrupted traffic movement in multiple areas The Mumbai Traffic Police in the early hours of Monday announced the closure of traffic at Andheri Subway due to one to oneandahalf feet of accumulated rainwaterDue to one to oneandahalf feet of rainwater accumulating at Andheri Subway Andheri West traffic there has been closed and the traffic has been diverted via Gokhale Bridge the Mumbai Traffic Police posted on XBetween 830 am on Sunday and 530 am on Monday Colaba received the highest rainfall at 882 mm followed by Bandra 82 mm and Byculla 73 mm as per the India Meteorological Department IMDMahul Tata Power station reported 705 mm rain while Juhu received 450 mm Santacruz and Mahalaxmi recorded relatively lower rainfall at 366 mm and 365 mm respectively an IMD official saidThe India Meteorological Department IMD has issued a red warning for Mumbai Thane and Raigad districts on Monday forecasting intense to very intense spells of rain accompanied by thunderstorms lightning and gusty winds reaching speeds of 30ndash40 kmphAccording to the IMDrsquos 800 am weather bulletin the city and its suburbs are likely to experience a generally cloudy sky with heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places The warning issued at 830 am is valid for the next three hoursTidal activity is also expected to be significant A high tide measuring 304 metres is forecast at 517 pm today while another of 350 metres is expected at 748 am tomorrow Low tide levels are predicted at 238 metres at 1218 pm today and 147 metres at 1216 am tomorrowAuthorities have urged residents to remain cautious avoid waterlogged areas and follow safety advisories The IMD has also advised people in vulnerable locations to take necessary precautions to prevent any untoward incidents