Pune:Back-to-back 600 mm rainfall pushes Lonavala’s 2-day total near 1,300 mm; 1 deadPopular hill station, Lonavla, received 620 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours ending 8.30 am on Tuesday; after recording 670 mm rainfall over the earlier 24-hour period. Nearly 1,300 mm rain in just 48 hours transformed roads into streams, triggered landslides, and disrupted road and rail connectivity across the ghat section, leaving several travellers stranded.Following reports of a landslide at the 360 South Resort in Lonavla, local rescue teams recovered the body of at least one person, a watchman, while the search is on for another person who is feared trapped under the debris left by the landslide in its wake. The landslide was caused by heavy rainfall in Lonavla which is otherwise used to receiving 300 to 400 mm of rain in 24 hours during peak monsoon season.Sachin Patil, police inspector, Lonavla city police station, said, “Search and rescue operations are underway.”Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) chief, Abhijit Chaudhary, said, “Rescue teams remain deployed across the rain-affected region as heavy rainfall continues. Search operations are also underway following reports of a landslide near the North Point and 360 South resorts on the outskirts of Lonavla, where the Pune Metropolitan Disaster Response Force (PDRF) team is checking if anyone is trapped under debris.”The PMRDA, through its PDRF and fire department, carried out multiple rescue operations across the Lonavla-Maval region as torrential rainfall inundated several residential areas.In Lonavla, PDRF teams rescued 23 residents trapped at Ekant Villa, while two elderly citizens were safely evacuated from Green Land Villa. At Mount West Crista Society in Karla, 21 people stranded in floodwaters were rescued using life jackets, lifebuoys and ropes; and shifted to safe locations. In Waksai (Ekant Nagar), rescue teams safely evacuated 34 residents stranded at Velocity Villa, Mango Villa and Oracle Villa after floodwaters inundated the area.The deluge this time was unprecedented and did not remain confined to Lonavla; it stretched across the windward slopes of neighbouring Khandala, and the Sahyadri range all the way till Mahabaleshwar. Dawadi in Mulshi topped the charts with 688 mm rainfall in the 24 hours ending Tuesday morning after receiving 474 mm the day before. Tamhini recorded 530 mm, Bhira 512 mm, Dungerwadi 423 mm, Shirgaon 420 mm, Mahabaleshwar 403 mm, Walvan 392 mm, Khand 312 mm, and Khopoli 240 mm.Like Lonavla, Mahabaleshwar too experienced a remarkable spell. After recording 513 mm rainfall on Monday—its second-highest, 24-hour rainfall since observations began in 1903—the hill station received another 403 mm in the next 24 hours; and an additional 75.4 mm till 5.30 pm on Tuesday. According to weather experts, Mahabaleshwar has received 1,567 mm of rainfall in the last five days, pushing its seasonal total beyond 2,000 mm within the first week of July.According to weather scientists, the higher-than-normal rainfall in Lonavla, Mahabaleshwar and other places was driven by exceptionally strong south-westerly winds striking the steep western face of the Sahyadris. The mountains forced the moisture-laden air to rise rapidly, producing persistent and intense orographic rainfall in the ghats.With relentless rain battering the ghats for five consecutive days, a minor landslide occurred at around 4 pm on Tuesday at Km 77/600 on the Pune-bound carriageway of the Pune-Mumbai expressway (e-way), sending rocks and debris onto the road. As a precautionary measure, authorities restricted traffic to a single lane for an hour while IRB teams worked on clearing the debris. Vehicles moved slower than usual on the Mumbai-Pune e-way, the newly commissioned connecting link project, and the old Mumbai-Pune highway due to lower visibility and the minor landslide incident.The impact of the active monsoon extended beyond the ghats and into Pune district. India Meteorological Department (IMD) observatories recorded 268 mm rainfall in Chinchwad; the highest in the district during the 24 hours ending Tuesday morning. Lohegaon received 174.4 mm, followed by Pashan at 115.6 mm, Shivajinagar at 97.5 mm, and NDA at 95.5 mm. The sustained rainfall has already taken Pune’s July rainfall well above normal while keeping daytime temperatures significantly below average.The heavy inflows also pushed reservoir levels higher. According to Kiran Deshmukh, executive engineer of the Khadakwasla irrigation division, Khadakwasla dam had reached 88% of its storage capacity by Tuesday evening, with 1.75 TMC of water storage. Authorities warned that water might be released from the spillway depending on inflows and appealed to residents living along the riverbanks to remain alert; avoid entering the riverbed; and shift livestock, vehicles and belongings from low-lying areas if necessary.Meanwhile, meteorologists said that the worst of the rain spell is now over. S D Sanap, senior meteorologist at IMD Pune, said, “The ghat areas of Pune district have been experiencing extremely intense rainfall, with many places recording more than 400 mm. However, rainfall activity is expected to reduce from July 8 onwards. Accordingly, the red alert for the Pune ghat section has been downgraded to an orange alert for the next 24 hours, and thereafter no significant warning has been issued even for the Pune city region.”While western Maharashtra and Mumbai have witnessed exceptionally heavy rainfall during the first week of July, several districts in north Maharashtra, Marathwada and parts of Vidarbha continue to report below-normal rainfall.Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “Rainfall activity across most parts of the state is likely to weaken from July 8 and remain subdued for at least the next 10 days. Farmers in rain-deficit regions have been advised to postpone sowing until they receive adequate rainfall.”Sinhagad Fort to remain closed on July 8The Sinhagad Fort will remain closed to visitors on July 8 due to continued heavy rainfall and the possibility of further intense showers in the area.“Since heavy rainfall continued in the Sinhagad region today and the IMD has forecast persistent rain, Sinhagad Fort will remain closed on July 8 as well. A decision on reopening the fort on July 9 will be taken after reviewing the weather situation,” said Manoj Barbole, Range Forest Officer, Pune Forest Department.