11 Dead as 3-Storey Building Collapsed During Monsoon Flashfloods in India

Following heavy rains in Mumbai, India, a decaying structure fell, killing at least 11 people and wounding seven others, authorities said in Thursday.

Yearly Problem

Every year, severe rains inundate Mumbai, India's commercial hub in the Western state of Maharashtra, which has a population of 22 million people. Each time, suburban railroads, roads, air travel, and routine public life are affected for a few days.

2021 Flooding

During the day, there are heavy monsoon rains. As a result, several portions of the city, which serves as India's financial and entertainment hub, were inundated on Wednesday.

Late Wednesday night, the three-story structure fell, and police officer Ravindra Kadam said dozens of rescuers were removing the debris to see if any people were still trapped.

The building in a slum in Mumbai's Malad West district crashed onto another structure, according to the New Delhi Television station.

Residents assisted firefighters and police personnel in rescuing individuals, and the seven injured were taken to a hospital in the Kandivali suburbs.

In just 12 hours, Mumbai received 222 millimeters (8 inches) of rain. Tidal surges of up to 4. 6 meters (13 feet) prevented the rain from draining, resulting in flooded roads, train tracks, and residences.

Building collapses are prevalent in India during the monsoon season of June to September when torrential rains damage the foundations of poorly constructed constructions.

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2019 Casualties

Following severe rains in the northern Indian town of Solan in 2019, a three-story structure fell in steep terrain, killing 14 people. The same year, a four-story building in Mumbai fell, killing ten people.

Monsoon

The monsoon's first raindrops touched down on Mumbai, and India's financial metropolis was flooded. If you're a Mumbaikar, the issue you want to be addressed right now is: can Mumbai ever welcome the rains without flooding and bringing the entire city to a halt?

While you wait for the floodwaters to recede and the city to improve its drainage, there are a few crucial items to keep in mind.

Flooding in Mumbai

One needs to go no farther than the city's rapid pace of building to see the major cause of recurrent floods. Mumbai is constantly expanding horizontally and vertically, and large-scale development is a regular occurrence in the metropolis.

This has two effects on flooding: first, when more natural space is converted to a built-up area, the land's inherent capacity to absorb water and keep it from gathering in one spot is lost.

Second, building debris and garbage plug drains and nullahs, preventing run-off water from leaving.

Mumbai's failure to adequately drain rainwater is due to the city's outdated drainage infrastructure, which cannot cope with the amount of rainfall that the city experiences on days like this. The city's almost century-old stormwater drainage system includes a 2,000-kilometer network of surface drains and a 400-kilometer network of subterranean drains.

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India, in a report submitted in the state Assembly on July 2, notes that "they [drains] are highly silted and perforated in numerous places." In addition, "High tides impact their outfall to the sea because 42 of 45 outfalls lack flood gates."

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