Kolhapur/Nashik: An orange alert in place for Kolhapur and Satara districts on Tuesday brought on-and-off spells of heavy rainfall, along with thunderstorms and lightning. The weather remained overcast all day long.
The heavy rain over the past couple of days also caused a minor landslide in the Bhuibawda Ghat, near Gaganbawda. Traffic movement on the ghat section connecting Gaganbawda in Kolhapur with Vaibhavwadi in Sindhudurg was disrupted.
With the Karul Ghat shut for restoration works, the traffic between Kolhapur and Sindhudurg district is currently being diverted via Anuskura Ghat.
Several areas in Kolhapur city got spells of heavy rain around noon for about two hours, and then again in the evening for an hour. The low-lying areas and pothole-filled roads in the city, like Shahupuri, Rajarampuri, Tarabai Park, Sarnaik Colony, Renuka Mandir Chowk, Kalamba Chowk and Apte Nagar, reported waterlogging and traffic disruptions.
District disaster management head Prasad Sankpal said, "Apart from a few minor incidents, no major incident occurred anywhere in the district. The Bhuibawda Ghat section is closed due to a landslide and it will take some time for the ghat section to reopen. In the 24 hour ending 8am of Tuesday morning, the city got 8mm of rain. The water level of the Panchaganga river was recorded below 14 feet.
More rain in store
As per the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), there will be a yellow alert for Kolhapur and Satara districts on Wednesday. IMD has issued a forecast of showers in Nashik district as well over the next three days, beginning Wednesday. The IMD has also issued an orange alert for Nashik district on Wednesday and Thursday, with heavy to very heavy rainfall and thunderstorms with lightning and gusty winds expected at isolated places. A yellow alert has been issued for Friday.
Nashik city and parts of the district received light to medium rains on Tuesday. Nashik city received 10.2 mm of rainfall between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm on Tuesday.
IMD has also issued a yellow alert for Dhule, Nandurbar, and Jalgaon districts for the next three days from Sept 24 to 26. These districts will get light rain on Sept 27.