3 killed in MMR downpour; Mumbai crosses 2,000mm rainfall this season
MUMBAI: Amid a Covid-19 pandemic that has ravaged the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), this year’s rains saw its deadliest spell from Monday night to Tuesday morning, claiming at least three lives in separate incidents, as the monsoon woes of waterlogging, damaged structures, suspended trains and traffic jams resurfaced.
The downpour also caused an unprecedented landslide on the western express highway (WEH) in Malad.
Mumbai recorded its secondhighest 24-hour rain (268.6mm) in August in 10 years, while also surpassing the 2,000-mm rainfall mark for the season.
According to officials, two, including a toddler, were killed and one person was missing after a house adjacent to a nullah in Vakola, Santacruz, collapsed owing to heavy overnight rain; a 15-year-old boy died after getting electrocuted on coming in contact with an electric pole in Thane; 11 fishermen were rescued, while two are still missing after a boat capsized around 10 nautical miles from Gorai coast owing to gusty winds.
Mumbai has already received 53.2% of its average August rainfall. Between 8.30pm Monday and 8.30pm Tuesday, the Santacruz weather observatory, representative of the suburbs and Mumbai, recorded 268.6mm rain, of which 251mm was recorded over a 12-hour period between 8.30pm Monday and 8.30am Tuesday. Meanwhile, the red alert (extremely heavy rain across isolated areas) for Mumbai continues for Wednesday.
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