RainHosts: With Mumbai Facing Deluge, People Rally Support on Twitter

Mumbai: Mumbaikars woke up to heavy rains on Tuesday, facing one of the heaviest rainfall in the year.

The continuous rainfall has brought the city to a standstill. People are stuck wherever they were; road traffic has come to a halt, trains and flights are also disrupted. The city is likely to witness its highest rainfall since 2005, reports say. Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department predicts that rains would continue for the next 24 hours.

However, it isn’t just water that is fast filling the streets of Mumbai. Help is also pouring in from all sides, making sure Mumbaikars don’t succumb to the adversity.

In an online hashtag campaign #RainHosts, residents in Mumbai are offering support. Hundreds of people, who have taken to social media to rally support, are offering safe and dry places to fellow citizens stuck on the roads and in the trains of Mumbai. The aim is to reach out for help through Twitter and offer shelter to the stranded.

Help is being crowdsourced through tweets, many of which have been compiled on to a Google spreadsheet. The table, which is being constantly updated, includes details on the area where shelter is available, the number of people that can be accommodated, and the contact number.

Depending on your where you’re stuck, one can reach out for help to the #RainHost nearest to you.

In addition to this spreadsheet, information on relief centres with address and contact numbers, as well as a list of helpline numbers are being widely circulated on Twitter.

Scores of individuals from different parts of the city have been broadcasting the location of their homes, their mobile numbers and what they are able to offer.