Aurangabad, Oct 21:
The city was battered with heavy rains on Wednesday evening. The thunderous noise made the townspeople tremble. Several low-lying areas in the city experienced waterlogging. The MGM observatory recorded 50 mm rainfall while the Chikalthana observatory recorded 50.2 mm rainfall in just half an hour.
It started raining around 4.50 pm. The intensity of the rain increased within minutes. As the torrential downpour intensified, the echo of lightning and thunderstorm also grew. The rain was pouring down heavily for half an hour. The thunder noise caused panic among the citizens. Many citizens feared a lightning strike and ran for cover.
The intensity of the rain was such that the visibility had reduced to a foot. The roads were totally submerged and the water flow felt like a river. Several low-lying areas in the city experienced waterlogging. Water entered houses and parking lots of apartments. Many traders were seen pumping out the water from the shops. The rainwater on main roads caused traffic jams on Jalna road for nearly an hour.
Average speed of 129.2 mph
Just three minutes after the onset of the rains, the velocity of rains increased to tremendous speed. "The average speed of the rainfall during this period was 129.2 mph. The MGM observatory recorded 50 mm rainfall in half an hour. The situation was similar to cloudburst," said Srinivas Aundhkar, director, MGM APJ Abdul Kalam Astrospace Science Centre.