NMC's Preparedness: Intense Rainfall Causes Flooding in Nagpur
Nagpur, India- Nagpur experienced intense rainfall on Saturday, leaving many to speculate about a possible cloudburst. Over six hours of heavy rain led to severe flooding in many low-lying areas, with regions along the Pohra, Nag, and Pili rivers. The civic administration responded to the situation, rescuing 125 people by late afternoon. Nagpur received continuous rainfall from 5:30 am, recording 217.7 mm in six hours and 222.3 mm by 5:30 pm. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) noted that the highest 24-hour rainfall in Nagpur was 304 mm on July 12, 1994, with Saturday's rainfall being the second-highest at 282 mm recorded on July 7, 2018.
The heavy rainfall exposed the Nagpur Municipal Corporation's (NMC) poor planning of constrution and drainage issues, as various areas faced waterlogging, uprooted trees, and traffic jams due to flooded roads and underpasses are no exceptions. Newly constructed cement roads had a major role in this situation, causing waterlogging not only on roads and low-lying areas but also in residential areas.
Rainwater entered houses in numerous areas including Manewada, Shrihari Nagar, Omkar Nagar, Shyam Nagar, Wathoda, Kharbi, Hudkeshwar, Pipla Road, Chakrapani Nagar, Uday Nagar, New Amar Nagar, Chhatrapati Nagar, Padole Square, Ujjwal Nagar, Kushi Nagar, Hudco Colony, Sujata Nagar, Manish Nagar, Besa, Ghogali, Manewada-Besa Road, Shankar Nagar, Bajaj Nagar, Daga Layout, Vyankatesh Nagar, Nandanvan Colony, Shanti Nagar, Vaishali Nagar, and others.
The NMC received numerous complaints about uprooted trees from localities. Areas along the Naag river were on high alert, of overflowing, with significant water accumulation in areas such as Wathoda and Kharbi in East Nagpur. Roads around Symbiosis University were also flooded, and life came to a standstill in Kharbi area slums due to the heavy influx of rainwater.
The road from Chhatrapati Square to Padole Square was closed due to waterlogging, and the Narendra Nagar Railway Under Bridge (RuB), famous for waterlogging during monsoons, was clogged as usual. This caused significant traffic jams as office-goers were redirected towards the Narendra Nagar fly-over. Ujjwal Nagar underpass and Airport entry road were also closed due to waterlogging, causing trouble for nearby residents, shops, and petrol pumps.
The NMC's fire and emergency services responded, rescuing many residents and people from various parts of the city. The rescue operations, which started in the morning, continued until late evening. By the time of reporting, the Fire Department had received over 71 distress calls from various parts of the city including Manish Nagar, Besa, Manewada, Nandanvan, Wathoda, Narendra Nagar, Hudkeshwar, and Pipla. The fire teams used pumps to remove rainwater from houses at various locations.
Many two-wheelers and cars were submerged, causing significant losses to their owners. Power supply was also disrupted in many areas of Nagpur, with Pratap Nagar experiencing several outages between 2 pm and 5 am. The 33 KV Beltarodi substation went underwater, disrupting power supply in Besa and surrounding areas for some time. The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) received numerous complaints about power interruptions. The tracks at Nagpur Railway Station were submerged, causing inconvenience to passengers, but there were no delays in train movements despite the waterlogging.
