June 24, 2007
Downpour Lashes Mumbai,
Death Toll Rises to Five
Mumbai
Heavy overnight showers claimed three more lives in the nation's
financial capital Sunday, taking the death toll to five. Life was
thrown out of gear as transport services were disrupted with several
areas remaining water-logged.
According to police, two people were killed due to a landslide near
a factory in northeastern suburb Chembur while a child was buried
alive in a wall collapse at Rafiq Nagar in the northwestern suburb
of Kandivli following torrential rains since Sunday morning.
On Saturday night, two people were killed and five injured after a
five-storey dilapidated building in Grant Road collapsed due to the
heavy showers.
The official also said that eleven crewmembers of a barge carrying
sponge iron were reported missing after it sank at the Khanderi
Island in neighbouring Raigad district.
Civic officials said they were fully prepared to deal with any
eventuality but this was belied by eyewitness accounts from the
suburbs that spoke of large areas being inundated.
Travellers on the two railway networks, which are the lifeline of
the city, reported delays of up to 20 minutes due to water-logging
of tracks.
The thunderstorms, coupled with strong winds and heavy showers, also
affected operations at Mumbai airport, with several fights being
delayed since late Saturday.
"We have been besieged with distress calls from affected areas
throughout the night and have taken immediate action as and where
needed," said an official at the civic body's Disaster Management
Cell control room.
"We are fully prepared to tackle the situation. So far, there has
been no major water-logging in the city," the Brihanmumbai Municipal
Corporation (BMC) official added.
However, residents of the affected areas had a different tale to
tell.
"It's been raining cats and dogs since yesterday (Saturday) evening,
and water levels are rising in several areas," said Manisha Kale, a
resident of Sion in central Mumbai.
"Several areas in Sion are water-logged and the BMC failed to pump
out the water till this morning, contrary to its promise that it is
fully prepared to tackle such eventuality," Kale told IANS.
"We fear the worse with more rain forecast in the coming days. I
hope we do not have to go through the horrific experience we faced
two years ago," Kale said.
Several parts of Lower Parel and Lalbaug, also in central Mumbai,
and areas like Andheri and Juhu in the south were water-logged due
to the incessant rains.
The showers have also thrown vehicular traffic out of gear mainly in
south, central and western suburbs.
According to the meteorological department, south Mumbai has
received 200 mm of rainfall since Saturday evening. The suburbs
recorded over 55 mm rainfall.
Local housing authorities had apparently served an eviction notice
to the residents of the 40-year-old building because of its poor
condition and the top four floors had been vacated. But a sweetmeat
shop on the ground floor had obtained a stay order, saying it would
get the structure repaired.
"There were many customers and workers present in the shop when the
top floor of the building caved in and trapped six people. Rescue
workers managed to save four people but two died," a police official
told IANS.
According to an official at the Chhatrapati Shivaji domestic
terminus, "strong crosswinds and heavy thunderstorms have brought
down the visibility at the airport, resulting in delays of incoming
and outbound flights".
Weathermen have predicted that Mumbai and parts of Maharashtra will
experience heavy showers for the next 48 hours.
"Heavy rainfall is likely at a few places, including Greater Mumbai,
Thane, Ahmednagar, Dhule, Jalgaon and Nasik for the next 48 hours,"
said C.V.V. Bhadram, deputy director general of the Regional
Metrological Centre.
Mumbai had come to a virtual standstill on July 26, 2005, when large
areas were inundated with waist-high water, forcing hundreds of
people to spend the night in stalled cars, buses and trains.
In Pune, 11 people were killed in two separate incidents of wall
collapse Saturday. Rain also caused devastation in Sangli in western
Maharashtra, where scores of mud huts were washed away and one
person was killed by lightning.
In Nasik, four people died after being struck by lightning. The city
also experienced a nightlong power failure Saturday.
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