Heavy rains in Mumbai revive memories of July 26, 2005 fury

MUMBAI: Mumbai was lashed by rains on Friday but the impact was nowhere close to the monsoon fury of July 26, 2005, when the city received 944 mm rainfall in a single day.

The heavy downpour exactly 14 years later caused water-logging and traffic snarls in several parts of Mumbai and also led to flight delays.

Intense spells of rain are likely to continue in the districts of Thane, Raigad and Mumbai during next four hours, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

Fourteen years ago on this date, Mumbai was battered by heavy rainfall, which caused havoc across the city, claiming many lives, and leaving the city paralysed.

These memories were revived by many on social media.

"Today is July 26, this day 14 years ago rains transformed #Mumbai roads into rivers and created quite an arduous journey to reach home.

What are your memories from this day, were you stuck in the rains, how did you manage to reach safe shelter? Lets's share," asked a Twitter user Madhu.

Another user, Abhishek Srivastava, tweeted about the 2005 rains,"I walked all the way from Vidyavihar to Powai as train stopped from Matunga to Vidyavihar. 8 hours journey on foot. Made it home that very day."

Some also remembered the famed Mumbai spirit and how people braved the rains in 2005 and others helped out those in need of help.

People had opened their doors to shelter the stranded ones, while others had stepped out to provide food and water to those in need.

Meanwhile, sounding an orange alert for Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts of Maharashtra, the IMD also predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall in Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai in the next 24 hours.

An orange alert signifies that the authorities should get ready for necessary action.

"We have issued an orange alert for Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts. An orange alert is merely a warning for authorities to get prepared, while a red alert directs them to take action as the situation might turn severe," an IMD official said.

"Heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely in Mumbai, Thane, and Raigad districts, while extremely heavy rainfall is likely at isolated places in Palghar district," the official added.

IMD Deputy Director-General K S Hosalikar tweeted, "Rainfall in last 24 hrs at morning 6.30 am today in Mumbai and around: few stations reported heavy rainfall in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. Rest it was moderate as expected. Today watch for more rains please."

"Today's rainfall forecast for 24 hours. Heavy rainfall over konkan region including Mumbai. Moderate rainfall upto 40 mm in Vidarbha and some parts of Marathwada, South Madhya Mah," he said in another tweet.

Private weather forecaster Skymet Weather tweeted, "#MumbaiLife rains Nowcast: #MumbaiRains may be heavy in some parts of the city and suburbs in the next 2-4 hours."

The Colaba observatory recorded 19.1 mm rain in the 24 hours ending 8.30 am on Friday, while the Santacruz weather station recorded 44 mm rainfall during that period.

The last two days of rainfall in Mumbai caused water- logging in several parts of the city, including Sion, Matunga, Mahim, Andheri, Malad and Dahisar, which led to traffic snarls at several major junctions.

"Weather forecast by i.m.d at 08:00 hours - intermittent rain/showers with heavy falls in city and suburbs during night/early morning," the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said in a tweet.

"According to IMD forecast heavy rainfall with severe thunderstorm, accompanied with lightening, expected all through the night. We request citizens to avoid venturing around the sea and avoid parking vehicles under a tree. Call 1916 for in any emergency," the BMC tweeted.