Sky turned dark and rains lashed Mumbai

Until 4pm, the sky was clear. There was no sign of rain. But it all changed in the next two hours when dense and dark clouds, which formed 60 km off the Arabian Sea, moved towards the city. Within minutes, it was totally dark even though it was just 4.30pm by the watch. From then till about 6pm, some parts of the city got something it had not got in the recent past: a very heavy rainfall.

Colaba, for example, recorded a staggering 131mm of rainfall. The hourly intensity of rainfall during the period was 86.6mm per hour.

However, it did not rain uniformly in the island city. The BMC weather station at the civic headquarters recorded a total rainfall of only 54.1mm, whereas the one at Byculla recorded 38.33mm.

On the other hand, in the suburbs, Dahisar recorded the highest rainfall at 51.56 mm, followed by Mulund with 50 mm. It rained heavily for an hour even in Malad, Dindoshi, Vikhroli, and Gawanpada. While Colaba received most of its rain between 4.30pm and 6pm, the downpour in the suburban areas began only after 6pm and continued for an hour, clearly indicating the northward movement of the clouds.

While rains receded in all areas by 7pm, the intense downpour, accompanied by thunder and lightning, caused waterlogging at several places in the city. At least 30 trees were uprooted.

Kuljaja Khadamanchi, 35, died after a tree fell on her settlement at the Jerbai Wadia Road outside Sewri TB Hospital. A portion of the terrace at building no 22 in the BDD Chawl at Naigaon collapsed after being struck by lighting.

Electric supply in the neighbouring parts was also affected. Supply was also affected in parts of Kurla, Saki Naka, and some other parts in Andheri (E) after lighting struck an overhead transmission wire. The supply in most parts was restored by 8.30pm.

Waterlogging was reported at many areas in south Mumbai such as Colaba Market, near Mantralaya and Parsi Gymkhana. “The rain intensity was 2.5 times the capacity of the storm water drain system. This caused some waterlogging,” a senior civic official said. A high tide of 4.41 at 4.52 pm also slowed the discharge of rainwater into the sea.

Even though rains were not as heavy in Parel and Dadar, waterlogging was witnessed at Hindmata, Kalachowkie, Nana Chowk, Slater Road and Tardeo.

In the suburbs, waterlogging was witnessed at the Malad subway and other parts such Nanipada and Navghar in Mulund.

“The waterlogging, however, receded within an hour of subsiding of the rains,” said joint municipal commissioner SS Shinde. He added that this showed the preparedness of the system to cope with intense rainfall.