What is a Cloudburst?
George Iype | August 01, 2005 16:39 IST Last Updated: August 01, 2005 18:14 IST A cloudburst is said to have caused the torrential rain in Mumbai, that has killed over 500 people and brought the city to a halt. What is a cloudburst? A cloudburst is sudden copious rainfall. It is a sudden aggressive rainstorm falling for a short period of time limited to a small geographical area. Meteorologists say the rain from a cloudburst is usually of the shower type with a fall rate equal to or greater than 100 mm (4.94 inches) per hour. Generally cloudbursts are associated with thunderstorms. The air currents rushing upwards in a rainstorm hold up a large amount of water. If these currents suddenly cease, the entire amount of water descends on to a small area with catastrophic force all of a sudden and causes mass destruction. This is due to a rapid condensation of the clouds. They occur most often in desert and mountainous regions, and in interior regions of continental landmasses. During a clou
