Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday spoke with Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray about the prevailing situation in Mumbai and surrounding areas due to heavy rains and assured all possible support, the Prime Minister's Office said.
Heavy rains hit parts of Mumbai and neighbouring Thane and Palghar districts of Maharashtra on Wednesday, affecting some local train and bus services due to water-logging on rail tracks and roads, officials said.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Maharashtra CM Shri Uddhav Thackeray regarding the situation prevailing in Mumbai and surrounding areas due to heavy rainfall," the PMO tweeted.
By evening, winds picked up, reaching upto 70 km per hour. Photos and messages on Twitter gave glimpses of the damage due to the heavy rains and wind gusts.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has asked people to stay indoors and venture out only for essential work.
Mr Thackeray took stock of the situation and asked the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to coordinate with the police and railway authorities, health machinery and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to ensure that citizens do not face any hardships.
Since Monday evening, torrential rains have been pounding the city. By the next 10 hours, the city had logged 230 mm of rainfall, making it the heaviest deluge since 2005.
Here are the Highlights on Mumbai Rain:
Aug 05, 2020 23:33 (IST)
290 passengers rescued from two stranded trains in Mumbai
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Railway Protection Force (RPF) rescued 290 passengers from two local trains stranded on flooded tracks between the CSMT and Sandhurst Road station in Mumbai on Wednesday, said a Central Railway spokesperson.
The city was battered by incessant rains during the day.
Two local trains -- one heading in the direction of Karjat in the north and another heading for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in south Mumbai -- came to a standstill in chest-high water around 4 pm.
The joint operation was over at 10 pm with all the passengers rescued, said Shivaji Sutar, chief spokesperson of the Central Railway.
Aug 05, 2020 22:59 (IST)
Malls in Mumbai resume operations; rains hinder footfall
Even as torrential rains lashed the city, the malls in Mumbai witnessed 15-20 per cent footfall on Wednesday, on opening after a gap of over four months.
The malls were mostly visited by individuals who were middle age and young, however, there were no children and senior citizens among the visitors.
Most of the outlets that were open were apparels, electronics, footwear and cosmetics, among others.
The city has 12 big malls mostly located in the Mumbai suburbs, excluding Navi Mumbai and Thane.
Aug 05, 2020 22:30 (IST)
Gone with the wind: Toppled cranes, damaged stadium and signage
From toppling high capacity cranes at JNPT to damaging the signage atop the iconic Bombay Stock
Exchange (BSE) building and causing destruction at Navi Mumbai's D Y Patil Stadium, heavy rains accompanied with high-speed winds wreaked havoc on Wednesday.
The D Y Patil Stadium suffered heavy damage as the roof and outer railings of the sprawling structure were blown away due to high velocity winds.
A video that purportedly showed a metal sheet of the stadium blown away and collapsing near neighbouring buildings in Nerul, Navi Mumbai, went viral on social media.
In south Mumbai, the high mast floodlight lamp posts of the Wankhede Stadium were swaying in gusty winds.
Aug 05, 2020 21:59 (IST)
PM Narendra Modi spoke to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray regarding the situation prevailing in Mumbai and surrounding areas due to heavy rainfall. The Prime Minister assured all possible support, informed his office.
Aug 05, 2020 20:53 (IST)
Extremely heavy rains to continue in Mumbai, neighbouring areas until Thursday morning, says weather office.
Aug 05, 2020 20:45 (IST)
Water enters J J Hospital in Mumbai as rains lashed the city
Water entered the state-run J J Hospital in Mumbai's Byculla area as rains lashed the city on Wednesday.
"The rainwater entered the ground floor late afternoon, forcing us to shift some of the patients and equipment," said a resident doctor.
"The authorities are trying to pump out the water but the water is not receding quickly as rains are unrelenting," he added.
Aug 05, 2020 20:35 (IST)
Signage atop BSE headquarters gets damaged in Mumbai rains
Gutsy winds and heavy rains on Wednesday resulted in the signage atop the headquarters of leading stock exchange BSE getting damaged and dangling from the iconic building's facade.
Asia's oldest bourse is housed in the 29-storey Phiroze Jeejeebhoy Towers, which is the highest building in the Fort area of south Mumbai.
The ''BSE'' signage atop the towers broke-off and was dangling from the facade of the building, officials said, after its pictures started circulating online.
As the staff was unable to pull up the signage, help is being sought from the fire brigade authorities, they added.
Aug 05, 2020 20:28 (IST)
Disaster Response Force rescues passengers from stranded local train in Mumbai
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) on Wednesday evening rescued some 150 passengers from a local train stranded between Masjid Bunder and Byculla stations on the Central line here, said an official.
As heavy rains lashed Mumbai and tracks got flooded, another local train coming from opposite direction also got stuck near the same spot and a team has been sent to rescue the passengers, the NDRF official said.
The first local train left the CSMT station in south Mumbai but could not move beyond Masjid Bunder. While 150 passengers in this train were rescued, another 100 were still inside, the NDRF official said.
The other local which had come from Karjat got stuck 60 metres outside Masjid Bunder, he said.
Around 60 passengers were inside and a rescue team had been sent, he added.
Aug 05, 2020 20:26 (IST)
3 cranes damaged at Mumbai's port container terminal
Three cranes were damaged at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Container Terminal on Wednesday owing to adverse weather and above normal gusts of wind, the port operator said.
However, there were no injuries and all are safe, a Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) spokesperson said.
"Owing to inclement weather and above normal gusts of wind, there has been damage to three cranes of JNPCT terminal of JN Port. However, there have been no injuries and everyone is safe," the JNPT spokesperson said in a statement.
JNPCT is the largest container terminal in the country.
Exact damage due to the mishap is being ascertained, the statement added.
Aug 05, 2020 20:21 (IST)
"Don't leave home unless extremely essential": Mumbai Police
As the city was lashed by incessant rain, the Mumbai police on Wednesday evening issued an alert, asking people not to venture outside unnecessarily.
"We request Mumbaikars to stay indoors and not venture out unless it's extremely essential," the city police tweeted.
"Practice all necessary precautions and do not venture out near the shore or water logged areas. Please #Dial100 in any emergency. Take care & stay safe Mumbai," the cops added.
As heavy rain and gusty winds battered the city, water-logging and incidents of tree collapse were reported from various areas, paralyzing both road and rail traffic.
Aug 05, 2020 20:20 (IST)
Mumbai Whipped By Winds At Cyclone Speed Of 107 Kmph, Heavy Rain
The weather in Mumbai - which is being pounded by heavy rains for more than two days -slid a few more notches this afternoon as the winds picked up, reaching upto 107 km per hour by evening.
The sudden downturn drew warnings from the city police and Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray, who asked the people not to venture outdoors. Photos and messages on Twitter gave glimpses of the damage, which included tall cranes in the port area to asbestos roofs and balcony sun shades, overturned cars on roads and falling trees.
Winds of 60-70 km per hour have been reported over Colaba. But the wind speed there increased to 107 km per hour around 5 pm, the Meteorological Department has said. By evening, Mumbai's Colaba area received 22.9 cm rainfall while Santacruz received 8.8 cm rain, the department added.