Its been a crazy 24 hours....in the last day Mumbai has experienced 94.4 centimeters of rainfall, stranding almost 150,000 people on roads or in offices, snapping communication lines (including cell phones and landline phones), shutting down all suburban and long distance train services, closing airports and literally shutting down the whole city.
India's previous heaviest rainfall - 83.82 centimeters - was recorded at Cherrapunji on July 12, 1910. Fresh data suggests that today's Mumbai disaster might rank as the highest ever rainfall in the world!!
I was one of the lucky ones (touch wood), in that I managed to make it home after walking just a few kilometers in the deluge!! My brother was stuck in a traffic jam near Chembur for 18 hours, and has just made it home after walking through 17 kms of waist-deep water. Most of my colleagues are still stuck in office, and have now turned to work out of sheer boredom - most of the city's economy, therefore, has been running on pure default as people have been forced to stay stuck in their workplaces since yesterday.
My heart goes out to those who are stranded at stations waiting for local trains or have been forced to be in the open through the night. There are people who have been walking since yesterday, and are still nowhere near home. The TV and radio stations have been broadcasting messages from people looking for any sort of info on their loved ones, as all phone lines are down, and they have no clue where family members are since yesterday evening. I can imagine the tension they are facing - had no clue where my brother was for almost 15 hours, and it was scary!!!!
The rains have finally taken a breather, and I hope that everyone will get back to their houses very soon. If you are reading this post, please do take a moment and pray for them!
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