PALGHAR: Torrential rain battered Palghar district for a second day on Thursday, flooding Dahanu and Talasari talukas, disrupting road and rail traffic and leaving more than 100,000 people cut off from the rest of the district.
Event Context
Team Analysis
Authorities deployed additional National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) teams after Kurje, Dhamni and Kawdas dams began overflowing, while residents in flood-prone areas were moved to safer locations.
District Collector Indurani Jakhar said continuous rainfall since Wednesday afternoon caused Kurje and Dhamni dams in the belt to overflow, prompting authorities to alert downstream villages and shift residents living in flood-prone areas to safer locations with the help of the NDRF teams. She added that an additional NDRF team reached the district on Thursday to assist in rescue operations.
Waterlogging between Gholvad and Umbergaon stations disrupted Western Railway services, forcing the cancellation of six long-distance trains and affecting several others.
Road links to the district headquarters were severed after flooding on Manor Road near Maswan and Boisar Road near Saravali. All roads leading to Dahanu were submerged, while a portion of the coastal road between Narpad and Chakali caved in. Schools and colleges remained shut on Thursday, as the IMD issued a red alert for the district.
The Kawdas weather station recorded 613 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours ending Thursday morning. Dahanu taluka has received 254.1 mm rainfall, and the worst-hit Talasari taluka has received over 580 mm rainfall. The adjoining village to Talasari taluka, Umbergaon, received 1,064 mm in the same duration, which is the third highest rainfall in any place in last 30 years. This rainfall has affected many localities in Talasari district. Palghar Municipal Council recorded 254 mm of rain during the period.
The rainfall also led to people being stranded and amidst the floodwater prompting the local residents and police to rescue the people.
In one rescue operation, Boisar police constable Jayram Chaudhari survived after being swept away by floodwaters while riding home on Wednesday night. In another incident, local youth and the police rescued six people after an MSRTC bus got stranded in floodwaters near Waghadi village in Dahanu taluka.
