Vehicles move through a flooded road in Mumbai on Tuesday. (Reuters)

Mumbai, July 14: Relentless rain and high tide today jogged memories of the July 2005 cloudburst, leaving lakhs of office-goers stranded and forcing authorities to evacuate people from home in low-lying Kurla.

Civic officials issued a red alert after the Mithi crossed the danger mark of 2.7 metres in the afternoon, sparking panic in adjacent suburbs. Several offices shut down early and schools declared a holiday.

Several low-lying areas went under water, including Bandra, Kurla, Khar, Saki Naka, Dadar and Lower Parel. Many of these areas reported two-three feet of water.

About 293mm of rain was recorded in the city in the past 30 hours, snapping suburban train services, causing huge traffic snarls and holding up flights. Many stayed back in offices. Work at some call centres in the western suburbs was hit.

An airport spokesperson said poor visibility and strong winds delayed flights by up to 45 minutes. Trees were uprooted in some areas, leaving three persons injured in suburban Powai.

The disaster management cell said 119.6mm of rain had been recorded in the city in nine-and-a-half hours since 8.30am. In the evening, however, the water level started receding.

Residential areas surrounding Mumbai airport, including Ghatkopar, Kurla and Vikroli in the eastern suburbs and Andheri, Vile Parle, Santa Cruz, Khar and Bandra in the western suburbs of the city reported waterlogging.

The three subways at Khar, Santa Cruz, and Andheri were shut because of flooding. Some parts of Bombay Central, Parel, Wadala, Sewri in central Mumbai were also under water, causing traffic snarls.

The municipal authorities installed 158 pumps — 45 in the city, 37 in the western suburbs and 76 in the eastern suburbs — to drain the rainwater and clear roads.

When the Mithi crossed the danger mark, municipal officials alerted the navy for possible rescue operations. As a precautionary measure, 140 residents of Bail Bazar area in Kurla were evacuated to a local municipal school.

“If it rains heavily when the high tide comes in, the mouth of the Mithi gets choked because water does not drain into the Mahim bay. But the rain had stopped when the tide came in, so the water level came down soon after,” a civic official said.

Metro pillar collapse

Rain and gusty winds on Monday night led to the collapse of a pillar at the Mumbai Metro construction site at Saki Naka. No casualty was reported.