3 killed, 95 evacuated as heavy rains lash Maha; parts of Mumbai inundated

Heavy rains continued to lash parts of Maharashtra, leading to the death of three persons in related incidents over the past 24 hours and the evacuation of 95 people from flooded places, the state government said on Tuesday.

Thirteen teams of the National Disaster Response Force and three of the State Disaster Response Force were deployed in vulnerable districts of the state, a disaster management department report said.

Heavy rains and strong winds lashed Mumbai and suburbs on Tuesday morning and flooded many parts of the city within a couple of hours, throwing road traffic out of gear at some places, officials said.

The Met department has issued a red alert of extremely heavy rains at isolated places for Nashik, Palghar, and Pune districts for the next three days.

Schools and colleges remained closed in Nashik city on Tuesday following heavy rains over the last few days and people in flood-prone areas were asked to shift to safer places, officials said.

Nashik city received 97.4 mm rainfall in the 24 hours till 8.30 AM on Tuesday, but the rains later took a break, bringing some respite to residents, they said.

On Monday, very heavy rains were witnessed near the Saptashrungi temple in the district. Six devotees received minor injuries during flooding on the temple steps, authorities said.

Palghar district neighbouring Mumbai received 109.9 mm of rainfall in the past 24 hours ending 8:30 am on Tuesday but there is no flooding.

A team of the National Disaster Response Force has been stationed in the Palghar district as a precautionary measure, the report said.

Thane district received 106.3 mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours ending 8:30 am on Tuesday but no river is flowing above the warning level.

Two teams of NDRF are deployed in the Thane district, which is part of the coastal Konkan region.

A portion of a house collapsed in the Rabodi area of Thane on Tuesday, but no one was injured in the incident, a civic official said.

Of the three deaths in the last 24 hours in Maharashtra, two persons were killed after a structure collapsed in a Mumbai suburb, while one person drowned in the Gadchiroli district in east Maharashtra, the report said.

The incessant showers affected 10 villages in Gadchiroli, Nandurbar and Mumbai suburban regions, it said.

The Parshuram Ghat near Chiplun town in Ratnagiri district is still closed for vehicular movement, the report added.

Traffic on the Mumbai-Goa national highway was diverted last week following a landslide in the Parshuram Ghat section.

Ratnagiri district received 63.4 mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours. But except for the Jagbudi, no other river in the coastal district is flowing above the warning mark.

The initial survey identified 126 houses which were partially damaged due to rains while six houses were completely damaged in the district, the report said, adding that an NDRF team was deployed.

Four people were injured, including two critically, after a portion of a dilapidated residential structure collapsed in Pune city following heavy rains, fire brigade officials said on Tuesday.

The water resources department has started a discharge of water from the Gangapur dam in the Nashik district at 284.16 cusecs, following the rise in the Godavari river level.

70 people were evacuated by authorities in Nashik district and 25 in Gadchiroli district as a precautionary measure, the report said.

After light showers for a couple of days, heavy rains returned to Mumbai on Monday night.

The city and suburbs witnessed incessant showers on Tuesday morning, causing water-logging at some places.

A tree fell near a petrol pump close to the Dockyard railway station of the Harbour Line, which affected traffic movement.

The tree was later moved aside and the traffic resumed but it was slow, a police official said.

Some commuters claimed that the local trains, considered the lifeline of Mumbai, were running late by five to 10 minutes.

There was water-logging up to two feet at some places, including the Andheri subway, and vehicular movement was slow in some of the western suburbs, according to the Mumbai police.

Some areas near the southbound end of the Bandra-Worli sealink, Mahalaxmi junction, Gamadia junction, Tardeo were also inundated up to half a feet.

Similar water-logging was witnessed at the Hindmata junction due to which the south-bound traffic was moving slow.

The island city (south Mumbai) received 42.42 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours till 8 am on Tuesday as against 12.04 mm the day before.

As per the Met department's categorisation of rainfall, precipitation above 204.5 mm in 24 hours is recognised as extremely heavy rainfall, the report said.