Mumbai rains: Landslide kills 2, IMD predicts extreme heavy rainfall

Two persons were killed, and as many others sustained injuries in a landslide amid heavy rains in the eastern suburb of Vikhroli here on Saturday, civic officials said.

The incident took place around 2.39 am at Varsha Nagar in Vikhroli Parksite, which falls under the collector’s jurisdiction, they said.

Soil and stones from a nearby hillock collapsed on a hut, injuring four persons, an official from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.

He said the victims, who belong to one family, were rushed to civic-run Rajawadi Hospital, where doctors declared two of them dead.

Emergency response teams, including personnel from the fire brigade, local police, and civic staff, were immediately mobilised to the site, the official said.

Shalu Mishra (19) and Suresh Mishra (50) died in the incident, while two others, Aarti Mishra (45) and Ruturaj Mishra (20), sustained injuries and their condition is said to be stable, he said.

He added that other residents of the area have been shifted to safer locations.

Mumbai has been witnessing heavy downpour today, inundating low-lying areas and affecting the movement of local trains.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert, forecasting heavy to very heavy rainfall in the metropolis for two days.

Incessant rain continued to lash parts of the city in the morning with occasional heavy spells.

The BMC has appealed to citizens not to step out unnecessarily.

The downpour began around 1 am and continued into the early hours of the day, causing waterlogging in low-lying areas of the western and eastern suburbs, including Vikhroli, Ghatkopar, Bhandup, Chunabhatti, Aarey, Andheri, Kings Circle, Malad, and Goregaon, among others.

The suburban train services were also severely affected due to waterlogging on tracks at several locations on the Central and Western Railway lines.

On the Central Railway line, tracks were submerged at Matunga, Sion, Kurla, Vidyavihar, Ghatkopar, and Bhandup on the main line, and Wadala, Chunabhatti, Tilak Nagar and Kurla on the Harbour Line.

Passengers have complained that Harbour Line services continue to be badly affected.

Tracks were also inundated on the stretch between Dadar and Mahim stations on the Western Railway.

“The water receded around 8 am and the train traffic slowly returned to normalcy,” said Swapnil Nila, chief public relations officer of Central Railway, adding that the trains were running 15-20 minutes late around 11.30 am.

A spokesperson from Western Railway said that suburban services on the network were running about 15 minutes late.

According to railway officials, most government and private officers and establishments in the city have declared a holiday for the Dahi Handi festivities, and the suburban services were not crowded.

A spokesperson from the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) said that bus operations were also affected, as several buses were diverted from waterlogged areas in Sion, Kings Circle, Aarey Colony, and Malad Subway, among others.

Civic officials said pumping operations were underway in multiple areas, and response teams had been deployed to address complaints of waterlogging and tree falls.

Municipal Commissioner and administrator Bhushan Gagrani visited the disaster management emergency control room at the civic headquarters and gave necessary instructions to officials, a BMC spokesperson said.

According to the IMD, several parts of Mumbai recorded more than 200 mm of rainfall between 8.30 am on Friday and 5.30 am on Saturday.

Vikhroli, in the eastern suburbs, recorded the highest rainfall at 248.5 mm, followed by Santacruz with 232.5 mm, Sion with 221 mm, and Juhu with 208 mm.

The intensity of rainfall was higher in the suburbs compared to south Mumbai, where Colaba recorded just 70 mm of rainfall during this period.

The IMD had on Friday issued an orange alert for Mumbai for two days, predicting heavy to very heavy rainfall. However, the department updated it to a red alert in the wee hours of Saturday.

“Warnings are updated as early strengthening of synoptic situations,” said Shubhangi Bhute, an IMD official, adding that in the coming days, the entire west coast is likely to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall with isolated extremely heavy spells.