Mumbai witnessed its first rains of the season with a sudden shift of weather at around 3 PM on Monday. Rain provided some much-needed relief however the metropolitan was shrouded in darkness due to a strong dust storm.
The strong winds caused a billboard to topple in Mumbai’s Ghatkopar East at 4.30 pm. As per reports, 7 people were injured and are feared to be trapped. Several pedestrians could also be heard shouting “they’re dead” after the billboard collapsed. However, no casualties have been reported. Rescue operations are currently underway.
Even the Mumbai traffic was brought to a standstill as pedestrians ran for shelter from the dust storm. The strong winds caused operations at Mumbai airport were closed till further orders. Many national and international flights were diverted, while some were rescheduled. Local service on the main line of Central Railway has been stopped for the time being.
Ghatkopar, Bandra, Kurla, Dharavi, Dadar, Mahim, Mulund and Vikhroli in Mumbai received rain along with strong winds. Apart from these, dust storm also occurred in Mumbai suburbs Thane, Abarnath, Badlapur, Kalyan and Ullasnagar. The windspeed was recorded to be 60 Km/hr.
The weather department said that similar weather may prevail during the next 3–4 hours. Wind speed may reach 50-60 km/hr at isolated places in Palghar and Thane districts. Lighting is also expected to strike along with a storm.