Mumbai, July 2: With the 'maximum city' being once again brought to a standstill by incessent rains, clogged drainage, water-logging and breakdown of commutation facilities, city residents have once recalled the horrific evening of July 26, 2005 -- when Mumbai was crippled under rains and around 1,094 people had died.
Although there is no comparison between the fatalities recorded in last 24 hours vis-a-vis July 26, 2005, the fearful day is being recalled as it is the first time in over a decade that Mumbai has received such high quantum of rainfall within a day's period. Decade's Highest Rainfall Hits Maximum City, 982.2 mm Rainfall Recorded From June 1 to July 2, Over 355 mm in Last 24 Hours
Between Monday 8am to Tuesday 8am, the city received 375.2 mm of rainfall, which is nearly 47 per cent of the average rainfall (870 mm) recorded in the month of July.
The quantum of rains should be compared with the downpour received by Mumbai on July 26, 2005. The Santacruz-based observatory had recorded 944 mm rainfall on that day.
This means nearly one-third of that rainfall was witnessed by Mumbai between Monday and Tuesday. The incessent downpour has claimed 23 lives in the city so far, with the maximum fatalities being reported in Malad where 18 were killed after wall of a dilapidated building collapsed.
Commutation means were largely disrupted, with trains running hours late on western line in the early hours of the day. On central line, several trains were cancelled as tracks were submerged deep under water between Kurla and Tilak Nagar stations.
In view of the rough weather condition, the state government had ordered all schools and colleges in mumbai and Thane districts to remain closed for the day.
Although the rains had stopped or lost intensity by the time this report was published, the weather department had issued a note of caution for city residents.
"Heavy to very heavy rainfall expected in Mumbai and suburban parts in next 48 hours, similar situation expected for Vidarbha and Marathwada. Advice tourists to not visit mountain areas since heavy rainfall is expected in parts of Maharashtra," the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 02, 2019 04:39 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).