Mumbai Rains: 11 flights cancelled, IMD predicts 'very heavy rains' on Sunday

The India Meteorological Department on Saturday evening predicted “heavy to very heavy” rains in Mumbai, including “extremely heavy” rain in isolated places, for Sunday. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said it was prepared for the monsoon onslaught and asked citizens to be careful.

“BMC has alerted its citizens about the possibility of extremely heavy rainfall tomorrow accompanied by lightning during the day. The civic machinery, including the Disaster Management Cell, has been put on alert,” a civic body spokesperson told PTI.

He said, wherever required, ward officials have been asked to visit areas in their jurisdiction to monitor the situation on the ground. “We appeal to citizens to be careful and avoid venturing into the sea, and not to open manholes,” he added.

In a statement in the evening, Central Railway informed that over 1,000 passengers rescued from the Mumbai-Kolhapur Mahalaxmi Express earlier on Saturday afternoon made their onward journey in a special train that left from Kalyan at 6:10 pm.

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Heavy rains in Mumbai, 11 flights cancelled, nine diverted

Heavy rains in Mumbai forced cancellation of 11 flights and diversion of nine incoming aircraft to nearby airports on Saturday. The operations at the city’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, however, were otherwise normal, an airport official said.

“As many as 11 flights of various airlines are canceled for today. These include seven departures and four arrivals,” the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) official said.

“In addition to this, nine flights which were scheduled to arrive in Mumbai have been diverted to other nearby airports due to rains and other issues,” he added.

Of the seven departures, budget carrier IndiGo cancelled five, while Air India and Emirates cancellled one each. IndiGo cancelled three flights to Mumbai from various destinations while Air India cancelled one incoming flight for Saturday, the official said.

Besides, eight incoming aircraft had to do a go-around before landing at the airport, the official said. On Friday, there was water-logging on the landside area of the airport but the water level was brought down with de-watering pumps, the official said.