Mumbai, June 8
Mumbai's motorists who drive through the flood-prone areas have been advised to carry adequate bottled water, a fire extinguisher and a small hammer in case they are left stranded following heavy rain.
The advice from the disaster management cell of the state government comes while the city was left reeling after the very first monsoon showers this year.
Officials cite the instance of the heavy rains of July 26 three years ago when many low-lying areas of Mumbai were under 8 ft of water. “Motorists who shut down the engines waiting for traffic to move drowned when water levels rose trapping them in their vehicles,” says additional municipal commissioner Kishor Gajbhiye, who liaises with the disaster management cell.
As water seeped into the vehicles their automatic systems failed due to which their doors could not be opened trapping the motorists inside. Carrying implements like a small hammer would have allowed them to smash the windscreens and climb out to safety, officials say. A small fire extinguisher would also help put off fumes should the vehicle's engine catch fire, say officials.
“The city and the suburbs received 161mm of rainfall during Friday-Saturday,” a statement from the weather department said. However, civic officials said the city could handle just 40 mm rainfall per day and thus most low-lying areas were waterlogged.
The civic authorities say they have now found parking spaces for vehicles so that motorists can leave their cars there and find alternative modes of transport. It is, however, not clear if there are enough open spaces to accommodate all cars in case of an emergency.
During the rains, motorists often abandon their vehicles only to find them stripped off expensive parts when they return.
Meanwhile, life continued to be disrupted in the city as train services were thrown out of gear. However, the impact was low because of the weekly holiday. So far three persons have died in wall collapses across the city, according to the police.
According to the met, monsoons have now advanced to interior Maharashtra and was moving towards Gujarat, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
