Heavy rains in Palghar; 'red alert' for next 2 days

PALGHAR: Parts of Maharashtra's Palghar district witnessed heavy rainfall over the last 24 hours, affecting road connectivity to eight villages and causing flooding in some rivers, officials said on Tuesday.

Jawhar taluka in Palghar recorded the maximum downpour of 146 mm in the 24-hour period till 10 am on Tuesday, a local revenue official said.

Seven houses were also damaged in the taluka due to the heavy showers, he said. The Regional Meteorological Centre has issued a 'red alert' for Palghar, predicting heavy rainfall for the next two days, a district administration official here said.

Instructions have been given to officials, residents of all villages, and fishermen about safety measures to be undertaken during this period, district disaster control cell chief Vivekanand Kadam said.

The Wagh river in the Wavar-Vangni area in Mokhada taluka was flooded, affecting connectivity to eight villages in the vicinity, a revenue official said.

The MeT department issues four color-coded predictions based on the prevailing weather systems. The green color indicates no warning, yellow is to keep a watch, orange is to stay alert, while red means a warning and that action needs to be taken.