Heena Sharma Blog

  Mumbai received 230 mm rainfall due to the cyclonic storm Tauktae , with a weather expert claiming it to be the highest 24-hour downpour in May in the recorded history. According to the India Meteorological Department's (IMD) Mumbai centre, the Santacruz observatory (representative of suburbs) recorded 230.3 mm rainfall in the 24-hour period ending at 8.30 am on Tuesday. Besides, the Colaba observatory (representative of south Mumbai) recorded 207.6 mm rain during the same period. As per the IMD's calculations, rainfall above 204.5 mm is considered as extremely heavy, "Mumbai (Santacruz): 230 mm in last 24 hrs due to cyclone effect, this is the highest 24hrs rain in Mumbai in May in the recorded history. #CycloneTauktae," Vineet Kumar, a researcher on cyclones in the north Indian Ocean at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune, tweeted on Tuesday. Read More

  Mumbai and neighbouring Thane, Raigad and Palghar districts are likely to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall over the next 24 hours with gusty winds, a senior IMD official said on Friday. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) official added that an "orange warning" (indicating heavy to very heavy rainfall) has been issued for the Vidarbha region for the next 48 hours. Palghar, Thane, Mumbai, Raigad, Rtn likely to recv hvy to vry hvy RF in nxt 24 hrs, gusty winds. Ghat areas of M Mah similar pattern with possibilities of isol extremely hvy RF towards Northside. "Similar trend tomorrow too. Vidarbha:Orange Warnings for 48 hrs, KS Hosalikar, Deputy Director General IMD (Mumbai), tweeted. Earlier, Mumbai and Thane received widespread moderate to heavy rainfall over the 24-hour period ended at 8:30 am on Friday. Read More       

Hundreds of passengers were stuck in India's financial capital, Mumbai, and nearby towns on Monday after two days of heavy rain flooded rivers and undermined railway tracks, forcing authorities to cancel or divert dozens of long-distance trains. Rivers in the western state of Maharashtra were flooded after authorities released water from dams made full after many parts on the west coast received more than 200 mm (8 inches) of rain. Trains were cancelled due to the heavy downpours and because a boulder fell on one line, railway authorities said on Twitter. Schools and colleges in Mumbai and neighbouring districts were also closed on Monday following a warning by the weather office of heavy rainfall, the Maharashtra chief minister's office tweeted. Financial markets were open in Mumbai, which is often touted as a potential rival to China's financial powerhouse Shanghai but, like many Indian cities, is hampered by poor infrastructure. Hundreds of houses and a f...

Heavy rains lashed Mumbai and its neighbouring areas during the night and on Wednesday morning, after a dry spell of nearly a week. The weatherman has predicted more rains in the city and its suburbs in the next two days. Nearly 171 mm rainfall was recorded at the India Meteorological Department's (IMD) observatory at Colaba in south Mumbai between 8.30 am on Tuesday and 5.30 am on Wednesday, an official said. The observatory in suburban Santacruz recorded 58 mm downpour in the same period, he said. "A system of clouds is moving towards Mumbai from the Arabian Sea. The low pressure area that is developing will bring more showers to the Mumbai region in next 48 hours," the IMD official said. Heavy to extremely heavy rainfall is likely at many places in neighbouring Raigad district and Ratnagiri in the Konkan region on Wednesday and Thursday, he said. "We are closely observing the cloud conditions. Security forces as well as the National Disaster Resp...

After a break of few days, heavy rains returned to Mumbai and its neighbouring areas on Monday morning, affecting road and rail traffic and briefly disrupting operations at the city airport. The suburban areas received around 20 mm rainfall in just three hours starting 8.30 am, an official at the India Meteorological Department's (IMD) centre here said. This caused water-logging on rail tracks at Ghatkopar, Kanjurmarg, Sion and other stations due to which local trains on the Central Line were running slow. Several local trains on the Central and Western lines were also cancelled due to flooding on the tracks, railway officials said. Office-goers who commute by local trains, considered the lifeline of Mumbai, were hit hard due to the heavy downpour in the morning rush hour. Operations at the airport were suspended for around 20 minutes in the morning and three city-bound flights were diverted to some nearby airports, an official from the Mumbai International Airport...

India's financial capital limped back to normalcy Wednesday morning with public transport resuming services after torrential rains, that lashed the city since Sunday, subsided. At 375.2 mm, the rainfall in the 24-hour period before 8.30 am Tuesday was the highest since the July 26, 2005, deluge in Mumbai. It had widely affected train and bus services while several flights had to be diverted from Mumbai airport and others were delayed for hours. A senior Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation official Wednesday said that with respite from incessant showers, there was no more water logging in any parts of the city and suburban trains and BEST buses were running according to schedule. According to a BEST spokesperson, out of 3,203 buses, 2,950 were plying on roads. The Central Railway has decided to operate its suburban services in Mumbai division on Sunday time table, which means it will ply fewer trains, compared to weekdays when trains are run in full capacity. "In...

26 July 2005, a date etched in the memory of every Mumbai citizen. Through pictures, we look at the deadly deluge the city suffered. Current Affairs News : The rains paralysed the city.The city received a rainfall of 944 mm, a 100-year high, in a span of 24 hours. The rain continued and at least 1,000 people lost their lives and 14,000 homes were destroyed. 37,000 auto rickshaws, 4,000 taxis, 900 BEST buses were damaged, and 10,000 trucks and tempos were grounded. The city had to bear a direct loss of about Rs 5.5 billion. Local trains came to a halt due to the water-logging on the tracks. 52 local trains were damaged. Water logging led to a dramatic increase in trafiic on road and low-lying regions like Dharavi and Bandra-Kurla Complex were submerged. There was no Facebook and Twitter then. Thousands of people were stranded due to flooding and could not reach home for up to 24 hours. The rains could not defeat the indomitable spirit of the Mumbaikars. They were ...

Visibility at the Mumbai airport was 'not very good' but flights were operating according to schedule, an MeT official said Current Affairs News : Torrential monsoon rains lashed the megapolis and its neighbouring areas, flooding streets, rail tracks and crippling life in the city. The downpour -- the highest of the season so far in a day -- caused traffic jams as many roads and streets were flooded and people were seen wading through knee-deep water. Vehicles on many roads were seen crawling because of the rain and low visibility, while potholes compounded the problem. Several schools declared a holiday today and many office-goers decided to stay at home. Suburban trains were running late by five to 15 minutes due to water-logging on rail tracks in some places. According to a Western Railway official, movement of trains on some tracks, which got submerged, had to be stopped but services continued on other tracks with restricted speed. There w...

A road overbridge, built in 1971, collapsed near the eastern side of the Andheri railway station and a part of it fell on rail tracks on Tuesday, injuring five people and affecting traffic Current Affairs News : Mumbai’s civic agency is on alert after heavy rains forecast for the city and says all precautionary measures have been taken. Heavy rainfall is very likely at isolated places in the districts of Greater Mumbai, Thane and Raigad in the next 24 hours, a weather official said on Tuesday. A road overbridge, built in 1971, collapsed near the eastern side of the Andheri railway station and a part of it fell on rail tracks during Tuesday morning showers, injuring five people and affecting rail and road traffic. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said it was the Railways’ responsibility to regularly check and maintain the overbridge. “The area where a portion of the bridge collapsed comes under the Railways. Therefore, it was Railways' duty to c...

The rain intensity has gone up since Sunday afternoon and is expected to continue further Current Affairs News : The Southwest   Monsoon   picked up momentum in Mumbai, bringing heavy showers that claimed three lives in the city and adjoining Thane, officials said on Monday. Heavy rains   lashed the metropolis and   Thane   district throughout the night and continued this morning, causing water-logging at several places and slowing the movement of suburban trains, thus causing inconvenience to office-goers. Two persons were killed on Sunday evening when a tree fell on them near Metro Cinema in south Mumbai, said an official from the disaster management unit of the   Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation   (BMC). A 13-year-old boy was killed and his parents were injured when an adjacent wall collapsed on their house at Wadol village in Ambernath taluka of   Thane   around 2.15 am on Monday, the district civic body's regional...