Mumbai rain: Skies give city a break; waterlogging continues, roads still jammed

Mumbai got a breather from the sheets of water that have been falling on it over the past few days. Despite the weatherman's warning of heavy rainfall, Thursday began for the Maximum with very little rain. However, a significant portion of the city remains waterlogged, with electricity and food in shortage in some parts of the city.

Wednesday saw respite for the city, with the sun choosing to make a guest appearance in a week that has otherwise been characterised by standing water on the roads, stuttering train services and Mumbaikars angry over the state of their city. The weather station at Santacruz reported receiving only about 4 mm of rain, way down from the 110 mm and 114 mm water blankets of Tuesday and Monday respectively.

Thursday has gotten off to a promising start for the city. But the day may only prove to give residents enough time to prepare for the next round. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a warning for the Konkan coast, where Mumbai is sprawled out. The warning from the Met has predicted 'heavy to very heavy rain' for the region for three of the next five days.

The Virar-Vasai region to the north of the city were heavily waterlogged and were cut off from the rest of the metropolis thanks to submerged road and rail links. The area is home to an estimated 13 lakh residents, who were without power for about 37 hours.

The situation on the roads took hit after hit. If it was waterlogging somewhere, it was a fallen tree at another place. Residents also took to social media platforms to complain that taxi aggregator services like Uber and Ola were offering cabs at two to four times the normal rate, considering they may have been facing a shortage of available cars in the fleets they manage.