Red alert for 6 rain-hit districts of Maharashtra; extremely heavy showers expected

Mumbai, July 23: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday issued a red alert for six districts of Maharashtra which have been already pounded by heavy rains, forecasting 'extremely heavy' rainfall and recommending preventive actions.

The alert was issued for the next 24 hours for the districts of Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg in coastal Konkan and also for Pune, Satara and Kolhapur in Western Maharashtra.

Extremely heavy rainfall is 'very likely' at isolated places in ghat (hilly/upland) areas, an IMD official said. 'Very likely' denotes 51 to 75 per cent probability of occurrence, he added.

The forecast for Satara is 'most likely' which means a probability of more than 75 per cent, he said.

A rainfall above 204.4 mm in 24 hours is considered as extremely heavy.

The forecast also included red alert for Ratnagiri and Satara for Saturday.

Intensity of showers will drastically come down from Sunday onward, the IMD said.