Journalism of Courage
Heavy rain will lash parts of Madhya Maharashtra and Vidarbha on Wednesday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said, declaring an ‘orange’ alert over Pune, Satara, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Palghar districts on Wednesday, and a ‘yellow’ alert on Thursday.
The IMD on Tuesday said that the prevailing depression over Odisha had weakened into a well-marked low pressure system by Wednesday morning. “It lay over Chhattisgarh and adjoining east Madhya Pradesh. The system will move west-northwestwards and gradually weaken into a low pressure during the next 24 hours,” the IMD’s national bulletin issued on Wednesday morning stated.
The IMD’s Flood Guidance Bulletin issued on Wednesday morning has identified Vidarbha and Konkan meteorological subdivisions as ‘Areas of Concern’, warning of likely flooding. This has been issued after the watersheds in these regions have saturated by over 85 per cent. Moderate flash flooding will be experienced at Nagpur, Bhandara, Chandrapur, Yavatmal districts of Vidarbha till Wednesday evening.
Mahabaleshwar recorded 215.6 mm during the last 24 hours and remained one of the wettest areas in the country on the day, the IMD said on Wednesday, adding that at 131 mm, Matheran too has received a good spell so far.
Other areas in Maharashtra that received rainfall include Dahanu (43.7 mm), Ratnagiri (35 mm), Satara (23.6 mm), Pune (23.2 mm), Kolhapur (22.9 mm) and Solapur (16.8 mm).
Under the influence of the well-marked low pressure system and its subsequent movement, the Met department has warned of heavy to very heavy (64 mm to 204 mm in 24 hours) over Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Gangetic West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Madhya Maharashtra and Vidarbha in Maharashtra and eastern Rajasthan on Wednesday.
