Incessant rains wreak havoc in several parts of Maharashtra including Mumbai city on Friday. Severe waterlogging in many parts of the city made people shift to safer places. Over 1,000 people were shifted from flood-prone areas.
India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued orange and red alerts in several districts of Maharashtra. Red alert has been issued in four districts including Thane, Raigad, and Palghar till Saturday.
Eknath-Shinde led Maharashtra government had urged people not to venture outside unnecessarily.
Maharashtra rivers in spate including Vashishti and Jagbudi rivers in Ratnagiri had led to flash floods in many regions. Even rivers including Amba, Savitri and Patalganga rivers in Raigad has crossed the danger mark.
Low lying areas including Sion Circle, Kurla station of Harbour line reported severe waterlogging. Traffic was hit in several parts of the state. Heavy downpour led to closure of subways and local train services were also hit.
Local train services along the Harbour line from Wadala to Mankhurd have been temporarily suspended due to rains.
Andheri subway was shut due to waterlogging. Severe waterlogging was also reported from King's Circle area in Mumbai.
Reportedly, over 1,000 people residing in Biloli in Nanded district were relocated to safer areas due to heavy rains. Flood-like situation remained in 12 villages.
According to IMD, rains in Mumbai is likely to improve over the next four-five days.
Raigad landslide toll rises to 21
With the recovery of five more bodies, the total death toll at the landslide-affected Irshalwadi village in Raigad rose to 21. The search operation was extremely difficult due to bad weather.
According to National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) officials, the team started the search operations by 6 am in the morning amid rainfall.
Four children, aged between 6 months to four years and including two siblings, are among the 21 deceased, said the official.
The massive landslide in Irshalwadi on Wednesday night had terribly hit a tribal village claiming many lives. Around 100 bodies are yet to be found from the debris. Of the total 228 residents of the village, the bodies of 21 have been recovered, while 93 residents have been traced, he said.
IMD issues warnings
In the wake of the heavy rains, IMD has issued warnings of moderate to heavy rainfall across various states including Uttarakhand, Himachal, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Odisha. In Gujarat heavy to very heavy with extremely heavy rainfall (more than 204.4 mm) is expected on Saturday.