Flight operations at Mumbai Airport affected due to heavy rains, 17 flights diverted

Mumbai, July 26: Heavy rains lashed Mumbai on Friday affecting movement of flights at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport.

Nine flights had to be diverted so far do to poor visibilty and wet runway. Mumbai police requested the residents to remain indoors and not go near the sea at any cost.

"Flights are delayed by 30 minutes on average, due to heavy rains since last 2 hours," reports quoted Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) Public Relations Officer as saying.

Intense spells of rain are likely to continue in the districts of Thane, Raigad and Mumbai during next four hours, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

Meanwhile, sounding an orange alert for Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts of Maharashtra, the IMD also predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall in Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai in the next 24 hours. An orange alert signifies that the authorities should get ready for necessary action.

"City is expecting intermittent heavy showers all through the night. We request commuters to not venture in water logged areas&also request you all to maintain distance from the sea. Please tweet to us or call on 100 in any emergency/need of help," Mumbai Police tweeted.

The last two days of rainfall in Mumbai caused water- logging in several parts of the city, including Sion, Matunga, Mahim, Andheri, Malad and Dahisar, which led to traffic snarls at several major junctions.

"Weather forecast by i.m.d at 08:00 hours - intermittent rain/showers with heavy falls in city and suburbs during night/early morning," the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said in a tweet.

"According to IMD forecast heavy rainfall with severe thunderstorm, accompanied with lightening, expected all through the night. We request citizens to avoid venturing around the sea and avoid parking vehicles under a tree. Call 1916 for in any emergency," the BMC tweeted.