The IMD has also predicted the possibility of occasional strong winds reaching 40-50 kmph gusting to 60 kmph, a civic official said…reports Asian Lite News
Rainfall in Mumbai and neighbouring districts is likely to intensify on Friday. Rains lashed the financial capital for the fourth consecutive day on Thursday.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a ‘red’ alert for Palghar, Thane, Mumbai, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg for Friday.
A red alert indicates that heavy rainfall in a few places and extremely heavy rainfall (above 204.5 mm in 24 hours) at isolated places is very likely.
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The IMD has also predicted the possibility of occasional strong winds reaching 40-50 kmph gusting to 60 kmph, a civic official said.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Thursday issued an order prohibiting people from visiting the city beaches on the days for which the IMD has given an ‘orange’ or ‘red’ alert warning of heavy rainfall.
It, however, said that the beaches will remain open for people between 6 am and 10 am on such days. This step was taken to prevent incidents of drowning in the Arabian Sea, an official said.
“It is hereby directed that during the period of orange and red alert by India Meteorological Department (IMD), the beaches in Mumbai shall be open for entry for general public between 6 am to 10 am only,” the order issued by municipal commissioner and administrator Iqbal Singh Chahal stated.
Necessary instructions should be placed on all such beaches to inform the people of these restrictions immediately, it added.
The official said that the order has been issued in the wake of the heavy rainfall prediction and in order to prevent the incidents of drowning incidents.
On Thursday, Mumbai’s civic body banned people from visiting beaches on the days for which the weather forecasting agency has predicted heavy rainfall.
In many areas, waterlogging led to huge traffic snarls and people were seen wading through brown and black murky water which flooded the streets.
Bus services and commuter trains – which are the lifeline of the city’s transport system – were also disrupted, leaving people stranded on stations for hours.
Heavy rains have also battered Mumbai’s neighbouring districts. Traffic on a key national highway connecting Mumbai to the tourist state of Goa was diverted after a landslide in Chiplun city.
Authorities said that work to remove the debris was underway, but that the movement of vehicles along the route would be affected for least two days, news channel NDTV reported.
Meanwhile, the IMD has also issued flood alerts for the southern state of Kerala and parts of Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh amid incessant rains.
The met department has also predicted ‘heavy to very heavy rainfall’ in Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Ratnagiri, and Sindhudurg for today. It had also predicted the possibility of occasional strong winds reaching 40-50 kmph gusting to 60 kmph, a civic official told news agency PTI. As per the forecasts, sea waves as high as 12 feet could be seen in Mumbai today.
The Western Railways, in its latest update, has said that as of now, all local trains are running on time. Train services on the Central Railway route were impacted for several hours yesterday following a wall collapse on a track. In the past few days, reports of traffic jams and long queues of vehicles due to waterlogging have also surfaced. Coupled with the diversion of BEST bus routes and delay in Mumbai local trains, the daily commuters are bearing the brunt of the monsoon in the financial capital.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has prohibited people from visiting the city beaches on the days for which the weather forecasting agency has predicted heavy rainfall. The beaches, however, will remain open for people between 6 am and 10 am on such days.
Meanwhile, the water supply has also been affected in several parts of the city owing to damage in pipelines. “Due to a water pipeline burst in front of Parsi Gymkhana in Dadar, water supply will not be available in some areas of Ward FN & Ward FS till 10am on Friday,” the civic body informed in a tweet.
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