Bad memories of 2005 Mumbai floods once again haunt Mumbaikars after this present torrential rains

People walk through a waterlogged street following heavy rains in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017. Heavy rains Tuesday brought Mumbai to a halt flooding vast areas of the city. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)

New Delhi: The commercial capital of India, Mumbai recorded 298 mm of rainfall, the highest in a day in August since 1997, said the India Meteorological Department with the Santacruz weather station gauged a whopping 298 mm of precipitation. Torrential rains lashed Mumbai and adjoining areas like Thane, Palghar, Raigad and other parts of the state of Maharashtra for the fourth consecutive day on Tuesday and there are chances of heavy rain on Wednesday. Expressing concern over the situation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted in which he urged the people of the state to "stay safe" and take all essential precautions. He even spoke to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to take stock of the developments.

Urge the people of Mumbai and surrounding areas to stay safe & take all essential precautions in the wake of the heavy rain.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 29, 2017

The downpour has once again brought back the bad memories of 2005 Mumbai floods in which approximately 1,094 people died. What happened during 2005 Mumbai floods, a flashback 26th July 2005 was the day when Mumbai came to a standstill due to flooding. The floods were caused by the eighth heaviest-ever recorded 24-hour rainfall figure of 944 mm (37.17 inches). The torrential rain intermittently continued for the next day (27th July 2005). 644mm (25.35 inches) was received within the 12-hour period between 8 am and 8 pm. Interestingly, in 1974, Mumbai recorded 575 mm (22.6 inches) rainfall in a 24-hour period. Timeline of how things unfolded: On 26 July 2005, around 2:00 pm, the Mumbai region was struck by a severe storm and subsequent deluge. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) in Santacruz recorded 944 mm. of rain for the 24 hours ending at 8:30 am on 27 July 2005. The control room of Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai started receiving phone calls reporting the heavy rainfall and subsequent water logging in low line areas. By 2:30 pm, local train movement came to a halt due to the water-logging on the tracks and this subsequently caused traffic on roads to increase dramatically. Even roads were water logged Thousands of school children, working professionals, government employees were stranded due to flooding and could not reach home for up to 24 hours. To avoid what had happened in 2005, authorities claim that this time they are fully prepare.

Hon'ble CM Mr @Dev_Fadnavis at @MumbaiPolice control room to assess the effect of #mumbairains Instructed prioritising help for citizens pic.twitter.com/VYJ1BVpQv1 — CP Mumbai Police (@CPMumbaiPolice) August 29, 2017