Heavy rains catch commuters unawares at rush hour

Mumbai was drenched in early pre-monsoon showers at 7 pm on Tuesday, as the weather kept its date with forecasters, pulling no surprises.

- Sabah Virani

MUMBAI:

While the island city experienced only light showers, the downpour was particularly heavy in the suburbs, accompanied by thunder and lightning. Within an hour, Jogeshwari topped the rain hot-spots at 63mm, followed by Andheri East at 57mm. Powai recorded the most rainfall in the eastern suburbs with 38mm.

Between 8pm and 9pm, further north, Borivali recorded 61mm, Dahisar 53mm, Charkop 49mm and Malwani 49mm.

The sudden showers slowed evening peak-hour traffic in various places. The Andheri subway was closed to vehicular traffic at 8pm, leaving motorists at either end marooned.

Traffic also slowed to a crawl at Saki Naka, Malad subway, Goregaon, Dadar and other parts of the city. Due to the breakdown of a car near pole number 251 on the north-bound carriageway of the Eastern Freeway, traffic moved at a snail's pace for more than an hour.