Mumbai receives moderate showers, no major water-logging; IMD predicts heavy rainfall

Most parts of Mumbai received light rains with occasional spells of moderate to heavy showers on Friday, but the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall in the city. As the intensity of rain reduced, no major waterlogging was reported anywhere in the metropolis, officials said.

Some motorists complained that traffic on the Eastern as well as Western expressways was moving slow, but there was no issue on the Eastern Freeway connecting Chembur to south Mumbai. The city traffic police said there was a traffic snarl on the Sion-Panvel highway after a chemical tanker overturned at Uran Phata in Navi Mumbai in the morning.

"There was no major waterlogging anywhere in the city as the intensity of rain reduced in the morning. Most parts of the city have been witnessing mostly light rain with occasional spells of heavy rain," a civic official said. The IMD has issued a yellow alert, predicting heavy to very heavy rainfall in the city and suburbs with the possibility of extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places, he added.

There could be occasional gusty winds reaching 40-50 kmph as per the weather bureau's prediction, the official said. The island city, its eastern suburbs and western suburbs received average rainfall of 100.82 mm, 94.79 mm and 129.12 mm, respectively, in the 24 hours ending 8 am, officials said. According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), there was a 3.46 metre high tide in the Arabian Sea at 8.08 am and the next high tide of 3.20 pm.

On Thursday, heavy rains lashed the city, especially its northern parts, causing water-logging at many places which badly affected the movement of vehicles. The BMC had declared a holiday for all schools and colleges on Thursday. Due to heavy rains, water-logging was witnessed in Matunga, DN Nagar, Byculla, Trombay, Azad Maidan, Kandivali, Kalbadevi, Oshiwara, Dahisar, Magathane on Thursday, with water being almost half-feet in most of these areas.