Red alert issued as overnight rain batters Mumbai, triggers landslide in Vikhroli killing 2
Mumbai Rains News: The red alert comes as Janmashtami festivities are set to begin today.
3 min read
Waterlogging in Mumbai’s Sion on Saturday. (Express Photo: Ganesh Shirsekar)Mumbai Weather: A torrential downpour battered Mumbai overnight Friday into Saturday morning, flooding large parts of the city and prompting the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to issue a two-day red alert for the district. Several suburban pockets recorded more than 200 mm of rainfall in just five hours, officials said.
The heavy showers also turned fatal in the eastern suburb of Vikhroli, where a landslide struck Varsha Nagar at 2:39 am on Saturday. Soil and stones from a hillside collapsed onto a hut, killing two people and injuring two others, according to preliminary reports. The victims were identified as Shalu Mishra, 19, and Suresh Mishra, 50. The injured, Aarti Mishra, 45, and Ruturaj Mishra, 20, were admitted to Rajawadi Hospital.
The red alert comes as Janmashtami festivities are set to begin Saturday, raising concerns about safety as crowds gather for the Dahi Handi ritual. Neighbouring districts have also been placed under warnings, with an orange alert in Thane through Tuesday and a red alert in Raigad on Saturday.
Waterlogging near Chembur Railway Station on Saturday. (Express Photo: Amit Chakravarty)
The IMD, which had earlier issued a yellow alert for Friday and an orange alert for Saturday, upgraded its warning as the intensity of the rainfall grew late Friday night. “Owing to the low pressure area which has developed in the Bay of Bengal, a trough is running from the Bay of Bengal up to the Arabian Sea which is called an east-west shear zone. The impact of this system will be felt across the Konkan region,” said Shubhangi Bhute, director of IMD Mumbai, on Friday.
Data from the IMD shows that in the past 24 hours ending 8.30 am on Saturday, the Santacruz station received 245 mm while the Colaba coastal observatory remained relatively drier, receiving 83.2 mm rain during the same period. According to records, this is the highest single-day rainfall in August since 2020. Earlier in 2020, Santacruz observatory had recorded 268.6 mm rainfall in a single day on August 4.
IMD records also showed that between Friday and Saturday, till 8.30 am, the heaviest rainfall was recorded in Vikhroli at 257.5 mm, where the landslide was reported. In other areas, Sion saw 228 mm of rain, followed by 219.5 mm in Juhu, 184 mm in Bandra, and 172 mm in Byculla.
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