Heavy rain lashes Mumbai again after brief respite, red alert till 8:30 am

After a brief respite from rain for a few hours on Monday, it has started pouring heavily again in South Mumbai areas with the weather department issuing a red alert for the city till 8.30 am on Tuesday. During this time, heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected to lash the maximum city, which was brought to a halt following heavy rain between Sunday night and Monday morning, The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

This is the second red alert issued for Mumbai in the last 24 hoursduring which several locations, such as Nariman Point, Ward Municipal Head Office, Colaba Pumping Station, and Colaba Fire Station recorded rain in excess of 200 mm from Sunday night to Monday morning, resulting in heavy inundation of streets and roads, throwing normal life out of gear.

The amount of rainfall that Mumbai received in the last 24 hours broke a 107-year record for the month of Maywith the weather department also saying that this marked the earliest arrival of monsoon in the city in the last 75 years, a PTI report said.

The incessant rain left several roads waterlogged disrupting traffic as well as flight and local train operations. One underground station of the Mumbai Metro, inaugurated just two weeks ago, was inundated with water gushing in, forcing authorities to cease operations.

Several low-lying areas, including Kurla, Sion, Dadar, and Parel, were severely affected, with visuals showing vehicles wading through flooded streets early in the day.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who took stock of the situation in Thane, said that the early arrival of the southwest monsoon and heavy rainfall in a very short period of time was to be blamed for the inundation of several areas in Mumbai.

IMD on Monday that the monsoon hit Mumbai 16 days ahead of schedule, making it the earliest arrival since 1950.

Last year, the monsoon reached the Maharashtra capital on June 25.

Monsoon reached Kerala on Saturday, the earliest since 2009, when it reached the state on May 23, while the usual arrival date is June 1.