By IANS,
Mumbai : Sea waves rode the tarmac near the Gateway of India, Marine Drive, Juhu and Worli among other places Friday as India’s financial capital was lashed by tidal waves 5.5 metres high, billed as the highest in 100 years.
There were no reports of casualties during the high tide brought about by a combination of the monsoon and the strong gravitational pull of the moon two days after the new moon.
City authorities had issued advance warnings to people. Nearly 200 families had been evacuated from the coastal areas.
Huge waves crashed onto the retaining walls at Nariman Point, Colaba, Cuffe Parade, Marine Drive, Haji Ali, Worli Seaface, Bandra Bandstand, Juhu, Versova, Marve, Gorai, Bhandup and Vikhroli.
Water roared over roads near Prabhadevi, Worli, Juhu and Bandra part from the one near the Gateway of India just outside the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower Hotel.
Coastal areas near Mumbai, such as Thane, Bhayander, Uttan, Palghar, Boisar and Dahanu also experienced the unusual high tides.
The high tide started at 2.05 p.m. and the waters are to ebb at 8.09 p.m. when it will reach the lowest level of 0.77 metre, the weather bureau said.
Thousands of office-goers took time off to view the majestic natural phenomenon at various points across the city, though from a safe distance and under the watchful eyes of the authorities.
People living in high-rise buildings facing the Arabian Sea crowded the balconies in neighbourhoods like Borivli, Kandivli, Malad, Goregaon, Andheri, Bandra, Mahim and south Mumbai.
Saturday will be another day of high tide when waves measuring 4.94 metres are expected to hit the city at 2.43 p.m., the weatherman added.
This has been a week of high tides. In the past two days, waves measuring 4.85 and 5.1 metres lashed Mumbai and the Konkan region.
Last week, the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) had used newspaper advertisements to warn people of the potential damage that could be caused by the high tides and had given contact details for emergency services.
As many as 11 hotlines have been established and 34 rain gauges have been installed from where round-the-clock information is being collected. Control rooms have been set up at all the 24 civic wards. Officials said that MCGM would also monitor the situation in flood-prone areas through CCTVs.