Mumbai: A fire service vehicle crosses a waterlogged street during heavy rains, at Byculla area in Mumbai, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020.
Parts of Mumbai continued to receive heavy rains along with gusty winds of upto 70 kmph for the second consecutive day on Wednesday. According to the officials, normal life was thrown out of gear while suburban train services were disrupted due to the heavy downpour. Parts of south Mumbai like Churchgate, Marine Lines, Marine Drive, Kalbadevi, Dongri, Byculla, Mazagaon, Parel, Dadar and surroundings witnessed heavy waterlogging, throwing the central business district out of gear, they said.
Commenting on the Mumbai rains, CR spokesperson Shivaji Sutar said, "Central Railway (CR) suburban train services were suspended between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and Kurla on the mainline and CSMT and Vashi on the Harbour Line after the heavy downpour."
Similarly, Western Railway spokesperson Sumit Thakur said that owing to heavy rains, some suburban trains were suspended and all trains were reversed from Mumbai Central, Dadar, Bandra and Andheri.
Mumbai rains cause damage, traffic movement affected
Major landmarks like the Bombay Stock Exchange's (BSE) Phiroze Jeejeebhoy Tower suffered the brunt of the rain fury when its massive signboard on the 29th floor got ripped off and hung precariously.
Some sections of a cement cladding adorning the exteriors of the Jaslok Hospital in south Mumbai were blown off and fell in pieces on the road below, but there were no reports of any casualties.
The roof and metal supports of the iconic DY Patil cricket stadium in Navi Mumbai were badly damaged in the strong winds and rain.
In some areas in south Mumbai, Kandivali, Dahisar, Kurla, Parel, Dadar, Wadala and Sion, water rushed into ground-floor homes, shops or offices as incessant rains continued all day, and the subways in Dahisar, Malad and Andheri were flooded, preventing east-west movement of traffic.
Mumbai: Vehicles ply on a waterlogged street during heavy rains, at Byculla area in Mumbai, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020.
Two persons suffered injuries in a minor house crash in Bhandup, while there were more than 150 incidents of tree crashes in the city, and 10 incidents of electric short-circuit, but there were no fatalities.
Huge traffic snarls were witnessed in south Mumbai with trees falling on some roads in Churchgate, Marine Lines, Charni Road and Worli, hitting vehicular traffic on the Eastern and the Western Express Highways.
290 passengers rescued from two stranded trains in Mumbai
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Railway Protection Force (RPF) rescued 290 passengers from two local trains stranded on flooded tracks between the CSMT and Sandhurst Road station on Wednesday as incessant rains continued to batter the city. Two local trains -- one heading in the direction of Karjat in the north and another heading for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in south Mumbai -- came to a standstill in chest-high water around 4 pm.
While the NDRF rescued 39 passengers using inflated boats, the RPF rescued 251 passengers, an official said.
Mumbai: A local passenger train stranded between Masjid Bunder and Byculla stations on the Central line, during heavy rain, in Mumbai, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020.
At Masjid station, the water was above the platform level and it was impossible for the stranded passengers to get down and walk because of the drainage channels along the tracks, he said.
Heavy rains lash Thane, Palghar, Ratnagiri
Heavy rains also lashed the adjoining coastal districts of Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg, besides downpours in Kolhapur, Satara, Sangli, and Pune, since the past 24 hours. In Ratnagiri and Raigad, more than 25 villages in two sub-districts remained cut off, while in Mahad town in Ratnagiri, rubber boats were deployed by disaster relief agencies to rescue several families stranded in at least four feet water, and 63 were saved from Sonyachi Gaon in Raigad district.
Rains pounded Palghar and Thane causing waterlogging in many towns like Mira Road, Bhiwandi, Kalyan, Ulhasnagar, Naigaon, Vasai, Virar and Dahanu.
Mumbai: National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel rescue passengers from a local train stranded between Masjid Bunder and Byculla stations on the Central line, during heavy rain, in Mumbai, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020.
Till evening, Mumbai recorded an average of 22.9 cm rainfall and the suburbs notched 9.5 cm.
Meanwhile, the IMD has forecast heavy to extremely heavy spells of rain in Mumbai and the coastal Konkan area in the next 24 hours.
Amid apprehensions of a 2005-like flood situation, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray reviewed the monsoon situation and the state government has rushed 15 disaster relief teams for Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, Satara, Sangli and Kolhapur to help in any contingency.
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