Red alert for Vidarbha, Konkan due to heavy rain prediction

New Delhi, Aug 09: The India Meteorological Department or IMD today issued a 'red alert' for north Konkan, north central Maharashtra, east and west Vidarbha, predicting heavy to very heavy rainfall in the regions, news agency PTI reported.

Relief from very heavy rainfall likely after August 12, it said.

Various parts of Maharashtra have been witnessing heavy showers since Sunday and the weather office said the heavy rainfall is likely to continue over the state.

The IMD has also issued an 'orange alert' for Marathwada, south central Maharashtra and south Konkan.

It said parts of the state could witness heavy to very heavy rainfall rainfall, while isolated places could also receive extremely heavy downpour.

This morning, Mumbai witnessed heavy rains coupled with strong winds.

Some low-lying areas like the Andheri subway were submerged, forcing authorities to divert the traffic through alternate routes, civic officials said.

Mumbai started witnessing heavy rains from Monday midnight, and the intensity increased early this morning with strong winds.

The weather department issues four colour-coded predictions based on the prevailing weather systems. The green colour indicates no warning, yellow is to keep a watch, orange is to stay alert, while red means a warning and action needs to be taken.