By IANS
Mumbai : All flights to and from Mumbai were cancelled for much of Saturday and many areas were waterlogged as officials feared a sea surge due to the torrential rain, which also submerged other parts of western Maharashtra forcing the state government to call the army for help.
"Several incoming flights to Mumbai – both domestic and international – have been diverted to other airports like Ahmedabad and Delhi. Outbound flights, which had been delayed, have now been either postponed or rescheduled," an airport official said here.
Flights resumed late in the afternoon, though most roads to the airport were still waterlogged.
The flooding of railway tracks forced authorities to suspend services on the central rail line, considered the lifeline of the city.
"All trains from Kurla to Chhatrapti Shivaji Terminus in south Mumbai have been suspended due to flooding of tracks at many points," a railway spokesperson told IANS.
According to meteorological department officials, Mumbai has received around 395 mm of rain since morning, submerging several parts of the city. "The incessant rain has flooded many low-lying areas in Matunga, Sion, Worli, Lower Parel in central Mumbai, Chembur and Wadala in the eastern suburbs and Bandra, Andheri and Borivali in the western suburbs," an official at the Mumbai disaster management cell said.
The met department has predicted that heavy rains would continue to lash Mumbai for the next couple of days.
Most roads across the city were waterlogged and vehicular traffic was badly affected. However, officials said the state-run BEST buses were still plying on most routes.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has urged people to stay indoors till 5 p.m. as a high tide of about four metres is expected this afternoon. Fishermen have also been asked not to venture out to sea.
"We have pressed into service all pumping stations to drain out water from flooded areas in central, south Mumbai and western, and eastern suburbs since morning," said a BMC official.
He, however, admitted that it would be a daunting task to pump out the water before evening with the possibility of seawater entering the city.
Meanwhile, the army has been called out to aid rescue operations in the flooded Konkan region of western Maharashtra, especially Raigad district where two people were killed in a landslide and over 1,000 people have already been evacuated, an official said.
Mahad town in Raigad was under five feet of water due to the downpour since late Friday. Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara in the Konkan region are also experiencing heavy rainfall.
Highways in the region have been badly affected and traffic has been stalled at several points.
Along the entire Konkan coast, fishermen have been asked to not venture out to sea till Sunday. The met department has predicted heavy rains in the Marathwada and Vidarbha regions of north Maharashtra also in the next two days.