Seven inches of rain disrupts rail, air traffic in Goa Indo-Asian News Service Panaji, October 02, 2009
Torrential rains since Wednesday have forced closure of Goa's Dabolim airport and disrupted train services in the state, and one person is feared drowned, officials said on Friday. State Chief Secretary Sanjiv Srivastava told reporters that the army's help could be sought to rescue residents in 100-odd houses in the Canacona region in south Goa, trapped due to the flooding of the area. "The entire state machinery has been galvanised. We are also trying to involve the army in the flood-control and rescue operation," Srivastava said. "We have already put rescue boats and other measures into action to rescue the marooned people to safer locations. The South Goa collector is monitoring the operation," Srivastava said, adding that the state's disaster management plan has already been put into action. Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials said that 16 flights were diverted mid-air from Dabolim airport to the nearest airport, because of poor visibility and heavy rains. Goa recorded nearly seven inches of rain since Thursday evening. Meanwhile, rail traffic along the Konkan Railway route continues to be paralysed with the tracks south of Karwar completely submerged by the rains. Four trains, including the Delhi-bound Thiruvananthpuram Rajdhani Express, have been halted at the Bhatkal railway station in Karnataka, Konkan Railway officials said. http://www.hindustantimes.com/Seven-inches-of-rain-disrupts-rail-air-traffic-in-Goa/H1-Article1-460601.aspx * * * Wet weekend ahead, says met department TNN 2 October 2009, 03:48am IST PANAJI: Though the monsoon season ended on Wednesday as far as meteorological records go, it has not shown any signs of withdrawing and meteorologists say a well-marked low pressure area on the country's east cost may keep the rains pouring till the weekend. "Monsoon has not withdrawn over Goa and the low pressure area in the Bay of Bengal may yield moderate to rather heavy rainfall during the next 24 hours and beyond," K V Singh, director, meteorological department, Altinho said. The seasonal total reached 2,568.3 mm till 5.30pm on Wednesday, the last day of the monsoon, while long spells of rainfall on Thursday yielded 51.9 mm. During the last 24 hours, up to 8.30 pm on Thursday, the rainfall recorded at various centres was: Panaji 52.2 mm, Valpoi 29.3 mm, Sanguem 41.0 mm, Quepem 34.0 mm, Ponda 56.7 mm, Pernem 87.2 mm, Mormugao 45.2 mm, Margao 70.3 mm, Mapusa 59.4 mm, Dabolim 97.0 mm and Canacona 35.8 mm. Meanwhile, Dr Ramesh Kumar, an NIO scientist said that though the low pressure area has given plenty of rain to the peninsular region, the number of systems that formed in the Bay of Bengal in the 2009 monsoon season were only two as compared to the 18 that formed in the North West Pacific (NWP). Explaining, he said, "During the monsoon season, there is a competition between NWP, Bay of Bengal and the Eastern Equatorial Region (EER) to draw maximum moisture into the sub continent. If more systems form over NWP region, it is good for China, Taiwan and surrounding regions, and if convection is more over the EER, then moisture is pulled away from the Indian sub continent. If it is in the Bay of Bengal, as in the present case, the moisture is transported into peninsular India, but central and northern parts of India are still devoid of rainfall." The deficit in monsoon this year in meteorological sub divisions was because the convective systems or cyclones over the NWP region were found to play an important role during monsoon activity of the Indian sub continent, pulling the moisture away from it, Kumar, who did a study with other scientists, explained. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/goa/Wet-weekend-ahead-says-met-department/articleshow/5079389.cms * * * * * * Landslide, heavy rain delay Konkan Railway trains By IANS, Panaji : A minor mudslide and heavy rain in Goa and north Karnataka have disrupted Konkan Railway services, with four trains including a Delhi-bound Rajdhani Express being "delayed temporarily", a railway spokesperson said. Three Goa-bound trains from Karnataka and Kerala, and the Delhi-bound Thiruvananthapuram-New Delhi Rajdhani express have been halted at the Bhatkal railway station in north Karnataka. "A landslide in Canacona in south Goa at 5.30 a.m. had initially stopped rail traffic along the coastal rail line, and subsequent showers have worsened the situation," Konkan Railway public relations officer Baban Ghatge told IANS. "Only 20 cubic metres of debris landed on the tracks because of the landslide in Canacona. That has been cleared. But heavy rain and high tide have flooded the Konkan Railway tracks south of Karwar causing the long delay," he said. Ghatge said the services were likely to resume by Friday evening. http://twocircles.net/2009oct02/landslide_heavy_rain_delay_konkan_railway_trains.html
