Heavy rains in Thane and Palghar; Surya river in spate, more showers predicted

Heavy rains lashed Maharashtra's Thane and neighbouring Palghar districts overnight and authorities issued a 'red alert' for Palghar on Thursday morning, predicting very heavy showers, officials said.

Due to flooding of the Surya river in Palghar, a bridge in Manor was submerged and the movement between Wada and Manor remained affected, district disaster management cell chief Vivekanand Kadam told PTI.

The high tide further aggravated the situation, he said.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a 'red alert' for Palghar at 10 am, forecasting very heavy showers over the next three hours, Kadam said.

Due to the heavy rains, the search operations for an excavator and its operator undertaken by various agencies at Sasun Navghar in Palghar have been stopped for now, he said.

The excavator and its operator were buried in a tunnel of an upcoming water project on May 29 after the soil there caved-in.

The neighbouring Thane city and district also experienced heavy downpour overnight, another official said.

The city received 35.51 mm rainfall in the 24-hour period ending at 8.30 am on Thursday, Thane Municipal Corporation's disaster management cell chief Yasin Tadvi said.

There were sporadic incidents of fall of tree branches in the city, he said.

Between 8.30 am and 9.30 am on Thursday, the city received 26.42 mm rainfall, the official said.

Thane city has received 228.93 mm rainfall this monsoon season so far compared to 50.70 mm in the same period last year, he said.