More Rain In 6 Hours Than Last 22 Days Combined: Why Kolkata Is Flooded

Between September 1 and September 22, Kolkata received 178.6 mm of rainfall, 16 per cent lower than the normal of 213.7 mm during this period. And between 8.30 am yesterday and 8.30 am today, the City of Joy received 247.4 mm of rain, most of it over a few hours at night.

These figures, released by the India Meteorological Department, show the scale of rain havoc that has struck the City of Joy days before its annual Durga Puja extravaganza. Kolkata has received more rainfall in a few hours than over 22 days of this month. The downpour has left several areas waterlogged and halted traffic, train and Metro services.

Seven people have died in rain-related incidents in the city, some of them due to electrocution. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim have appealed to the people to stay indoors. The Mayor said it would take at least 12 hours to restore normalcy in the city, provided there was no fresh spell of rain.

What's Behind The Rain

According to the weather office, a low-pressure area over the northeast Bay of Bengal is responsible for the heavy rain coastal areas of Gangetic West Bengal, including areas of Kolkata, Hooghly and Howrah. The city must, however, brace for more because this low-pressure are is likely to persist over the same region for the next 24 hours, according to the Met department's prediction.

6 Hours Of Deluge

Most areas in Kolkata and its suburbs started receiving rain after midnight. Between 12 am and 6 am, the exception downpour flooded streets and homes and the city woke up to a flood-like situation.

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation maintains rain gauges in key areas. Among the worst-hit by the rain fury are Ballygunge (295 mm), Gariahat (262 mm), Jadavpur (258 mm), Alipore (240 mm) and Mukundapur (280 mm), the civic body's data shows.

Kolkata Gets 2663% More Rain

According to data from the IMD, Kolkata received 2,663 per cent more rainfall in the 24 hours ending 8.30 am than the long-term average rainfall for the city. A distant second was the adjoining Howrah, which received 1,006 per cent more rainfall than the long-term average. North 24 Parganas received 857 per cent more rain than the average. The numbers point to the scale of rain the city has received in a short duration.