Weather Forecast Today LIVE UPDATES: NDRF deploys rescue boats for 2,000 stranded passengers of Mahalaxmi Express

(Express photo by Deepak Joshi, 27-07-2019, Mumbai)

Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Mumbai City Police have reached the site where Mahalaxmi Express is held up between Badlapur and Wangani. Biscuits and water are being distributed to nearly 2000 stranded passengers and NDRF team is expected to reach the spot soon. (ANI)

Severe waterlogging in Chembur following continuous rainfall in the city. The IMD predicts intermittent rain with heavy to very heavy falls at few places in city and suburbs.

(Source: ANI/Twitter)

Mumbai Airport authorities maintain that flights are operating normally. Meanwhile, schools in Uttarakhand will remain shut due to heavy downpour

At least seven flights have been cancelled and 8-9 go-around flights have been diverted at Mumbai Airport.  

Mahalaxmi Express (17411) which runs between Mumbai and Kolhapur is held up between Badlapur and Wangani with nearly 2000 passengers. An National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team is on their way for rescue efforts, said DRM Central Railways

Very heavy rains have been recorded in the suburbs in the last 24 hours with stations reporting 150-180 mm rainfall at 7 am. In Mumbai city, rainfall was recorded to be around 50-100 mm. The Santacruz observatory recorded 192mm rainfall, whereas Colaba recorded 73 mm. 

Throughout the day, Mumbai witnessed moderate to heavy rainfall in isolated pockets in the city and suburbs. “There is cyclonic circulation over northern parts of West Bengal and the neighbourhood. Under its influence, a low pressure area is expected over coastal areas of West Bengal and around. This would also enhance rainfall over the west coast. Heavy rainfall over Konkan region, including Mumbai, is predicted for the next 24 hours,” tweeted K S Hosalikar, deputy director general of IMD, Mumbai.

Heavy rainfall lashed Mumbai suburbs on Friday evening, as the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) Colaba observatory recorded of 53.2 mm of rainfall from 8.30 am to 8.30 pm, while Santacruz observatory recorded 132 mm of rainfall in the same duration. Maximum rain was recorded between 7 pm and 8 pm on Friday.

In Mumbai, Powai recorded the highest at 122.8 mm in a span of 12 hours while Bandra (West) recorded 119.4 mm rainfall followed by Bandra Kurla Complex (East) at 116.4 mm.

The IMD issued ‘orange’ alert for Mumbai for Saturday, with forecast of “very heavy to heavy” rain at some places in the city and suburbs. An orange alert is meant for authorities to be alert and prepare for severe situation. An orange alert is also issued for Thane till Monday and for Palghar till Sunday. A yellow alert is issued for Mumbai for Sunday. A yellow alert means authority should keep a watch.

A statement from the Railway Board in Mumbai said that many trains were diverted via Kalyan, Igatpuri, Manmad, Daund and on proper path from Daund onwards due to very heavy rain and waterlogging at Ambernath and Badlapur. The trains which were diverted are 11013, 12701, 11005, 22143, 16507, 12115, 51029, and 11027.

Santacruz in Mumbai recorded 124 mm rain between 5:30 pm to 11:30 pm on Friday.

Due to heavy rain in Mumbai, Santacruz, Badlapur, Saki Naka, Hiranandani, Panvel Kalyan were waterlogged. Waterlogging was also reported from Dombivali and Vashi railway stations after the rains.

A total of 17 flights have been diverted from Mumbai airport due to heavy rain.

Very heavy rains were reported from Kurla Thane belt and in Kalyan in Mumbai. Sunil Udasi, Central Railways Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) said that the water from city area in Ambernath and Badlapur is gushing onto the railway area, hence services from Kalyan to Karjat/Khopoli have been suspended as a precautionary measure. "Our staff and senior officers are in control and field to assess the situation and take remedial measures. We are in touch with local civic authorities to ensure water discharge of city area so that we can commence our services as soon as possible."

Nine flights have been diverted so far, says Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) Public Relations Officer, ANI reported. Visibility has also been fluctuating from time to time.

Mumbai will be expecting intermittent heavy showers all through the night, city police has requested commuters to not venture in water logged areas and to maintain distance from the sea. "Please tweet to us or call on 100 in any emergency/need of help," Mumbai police said. 

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A Shiva idol installed on a hill in Arjuni Morgaon tehsil in Gondia district was found damaged, possibly by lightning, police said on Friday. The 15-feet-tall idol, made of Plaster of Paris and fiberglass, stands atop Pratapgarh hills. It was found in half-burnt condition on Friday, with preliminary inspection suggesting that lightning may have struck it. The region witnessed heavy rains and thunderstorm on Friday. Former Maharashtra Minister Rajkumar Badole visited the spot and appealed people to maintain peace. (PTI)

Floods in Assam claimed five more lives, taking the toll in the state to 80 on Friday even as water levels in all the affected districts receded further, an official report said. Around 27.15 lakh people in 2,078 villages of 17 districts have been affected by the deluge. Of the five deaths reported on Friday, two were from Baksa district while one death each was reported from Barpeta, Cachar and Biswanath, the Assam State Disaster Management said in its report. (PTI)

Five people were killed in rain-related incident in Rajasthan's Sikar district, which has been witnessing heavy rainfall, an official said on Friday. Three people were swept away by overflowing waters of a river in the district while two people drowned after slipping into a water body on Thursday, said additional district magistrate Jai Prakash Narayan. He said another person died after a wall collapsed. Narayan said a compensation of Rs 4 lakh has been provided to the families members of the deceased. (PTI)

The Modak Sagar lake, one of the seven reservoirs supplying water to Mumbai, started overflowing on Friday afternoon following heavy rains over the past few days, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said. This comes a day after the Tansa lake, another key source of potable water for the metropolis, started overflowing. With the rising level in these lakes, the BMC had last week rolled back the 10 per cent water cut that was in force since November last year. Due to heavy downpour for three consecutive days since Wednesday, there has been a significant rise in water levels at the seven lakes in Mumbai. (PTI)

Flights at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport have been delayed by at least 30 minutes due to heavy rains since the last two hours, MIAL Public Relations Officer told ANI.

India Meteorological Department (IMD) Mumbai predicts severe thunderstorm accompanied with lightning and strong surface winds exceeding 50-60 kmph to occur in Thane, Raigad & Mumbai for next four hours.

Maximum temperatures in Haryana and Punjab hovered below normal limits on Friday after rains lashed many parts of the two states, including Chandigarh, over the past two days. The joint capital of the two states recorded a maximum temperature of 31.8 degrees Celsius, one notch below normal limits, a weather department report said. In Punjab, Amritsar recorded a high of 31.6 degrees Celsius, three notches below normal limits while Ludhiana and Patiala, too, recorded below-normal maximums of 31.1 degrees Celsius and 32.4 degrees Celsius, respectively. (PTI)

Rains pounded several parts of Odisha for the second day on Friday while the Meteorological Centre has forecast heavy rainfall for the next two days in many places. The rain was triggered by a cyclonic circulation over the Bay of Bengal as well as a monsoon trough line fro Rajasthan to Kolkata and extending up to southeast Bay of Bengal, the weatherman said.

Light to moderate rain or thundershower will lash most places of the state, he said adding that heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely to occur at isolated places in Sundargarh Keonjhar, Angul, Deoarh and Sambalpur districts on Saturday. (PTI)

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday said his government will send a memorandum to the Centre seeking financial assistance following an assessment of the damage caused by floods in the state. Kumar, while replying to a question by RJD leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui in the assembly, said the government was in the process of transferring Rs 6,000 as "gratuitous relief" to the bank accounts of the flood-affected families. At least 123 people died and more than 82 lakh have been affected by the floods over the past two weeks in 13 districts of Bihar, according to the Disaster Management Department. (PTI)

The Amarnath yatra from Jammu city to Kashmir was suspended on Friday due to bad weather conditions along the highway to the Valley, officials said. As many as 7,021 pilgrims have paid obeisance at the cave shrine of Amarnath in the south Kashmir Himalayas till Thursday evening, taking the total those having performed the darshan to 3,08,839, they said.

Over 3.30 lakh pilgrims from across the country have so far registered themselves for the 46-day pilgrimage, which takes place on the 36-km Pahalgam track in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district and the 14-km Baltal route in Ganderbal district. "The Amarnath yatra has been suspended from Jammu to Kashmir due to bad weather conditions along highway today," a police official told PTI.

The IMD said widespread rain or thundershowers will cover parts of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh from July 24 to 27. See pictures

Mumbai registered its first dengue death this year with 32-year-old Mulund resident on July 20. Health officials are seeing a surge in the viral infection, transmitted by Aedes Aegypti mosquito. The mosquito-borne infection has successively risen in the last few years in Mumbai. How has weather played a role? What is BMC’s advisory for people?

During heavy rainfall, water continuously accumulates and gets washed away, thus sweeping away any mosquito larvae. In Mumbai, however, the last fortnight has seen a dry spell, forcing rainwater to remain stagnant. This kind of weather is best suited for mosquitoes to breed and multiply. “The mosquito’s life cycle is 7-8 days, to grow from larvae to adult stage. With the dry spell, the water is not washed away and remains stagnant allowing the larvae to develop into an adult mosquito,” said Dr Padmaja Keskar, executive health officer in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Read More

The water level measured in Madhuban Dam in Valsad district on Thursday afternoon was 73.25 metres, with 49,794 cusecs inflow of rainwater and outflow of 65,181 cusecs. The dam authorities opened eight gates up to two feet to discharge rainwater from the dam. In Ukai dam, the water level measured was 278.79 feet, with 11,488 cusecs inflow of rainwater. As the dam authorities decided to fill up the reservoir, outflow was kept at just 600 cusecs. Sources said it continued to rain in the upper catchment area of Ukai dam, which is spread across areas in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The danger level mark of Ukai dam is 345 feet.

On Thursday, the water level in the rivers such as Auranga, Stan, Par and Kolam in Valsad and Khapri, Sarpganga, Gira, Ambika and Purna in Dang district rose so much that both the banks were overflowing. In Tapi district, Nizar received 139 mm rain, Dolvan 50 mm, Songadh 110 mm, Uchhal 77 mm, Valod 56 mm, Vyara 27 mm and Kukarmunda 10 mm.

In the past couple of days, the temperature in Surat city had risen to 35 degrees Celsius, as there had been no rainfall. However, a sudden change in the weather came about on Wednesday night. High-speed winds began blowing, accompanied by rain and lightning for a couple of hours, bringing respite from the heat.

The flood control department said that in 24 hours, Surat received 50 mm of rain, while several parts of Dang district in South Gujarat also received heavy rainfall – Ahwa 186 mm, Saputara 147 mm, Vaghai 291 mm and Subir 101 mm.

Parts of South Gujarat received heavy rainfall on Thursday, with Vaghai taluka of Tapi district receiving the highest rainfall of 6 inches. As creeks and rivers overflowed, the water level at Ukai dam in Tapi district rose to 278.79 feet as 11,488 cusecs of rainwater flowed into the reservoir.

On Thursday, the Surat fire department received 25 calls about uprooted trees and three incidents of short circuits. In several areas of the city, the trees had fallen on roads and caused traffic jams, before they were removed by the fire department personnel. Read More

The rainfall activity has increased over central India, Northern Plains and Western Himalayan region from July 24. Fairly widespread to widespread rainfall with isolated heavy to very heavy and extremely heavy falls are likely over south Haryana and north Rajasthan; Fairly widespread to widespread rainfall with isolated heavy to very heavy falls are also likely over Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab during next 24 hours.

Welcome to our LIVE blog. IMD has predicted heavy rainfall at a few places and very heavy to extremely heavy falls at isolated places over East Rajasthan Friday. Heavy to very heavy rainfall with extremely heavy falls is also expected at isolated places over Konkan, Goa, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Gangetic West Bengal, Madhya Maharashtra, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Assam, Meghalaya, Gujarat region and Jharkhand.  Follow to get the latest updates!