Heavy rain has hit Mumbai and its surrounding areas in the last 24 hours, leading to widespread waterlogging and disruptions in suburban train services. Some areas in the city recorded over 300 mm of rainfall within six hours from 1 am to 7 am on Monday.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, and the Konkan belt. Vikhroli’s Veer Savarkar Marg Municipal School and MCMCR Powai saw the highest rainfall in the last 24 hours, recording over 315 mm of rainfall.
Over 50 flights have been cancelled due to the downpour. Several airlines have urged passengers to check flight status before leaving for the airport.
Visuals from across the city show people wading through waist-deep waters and cars lined bumper to bumper on Mumbai roads. All government, private, and municipal schools and colleges have been shut across the city.
At Dombivli station, people waited for trains on submerged tracks. Water-logging was reported from Worli, Buntara Bhavan in Kurla East, King’s Circle area of Mumbai, Dadar, and Vidyavihar Railway Station. Over 30 lakh commuters use the suburban local train services in Mumbai and neighbouring Thane, Palghar, and Raigad every day.
Train services between Kasara and Titwala stations in Thane district were suspended after soil covered the tracks between Atgaon and Thansit stations, disrupting rail traffic on the busy Kalyan-Kasara route.
Officials have said if the rain stops for over two hours the waterlogging will subside, but the weather office has predicted heavy rain throughout the day. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall in Mumbai today.
Sea waves of 4.4 meters are expected at high tide around 2 pm.
Several trains were diverted, rescheduled, or terminated due to waterlogging between Kalyan and Kasara stations of the Mumbai division. Due to heavy rainfall and flash floods on the Vasind-Khardi section between 3 am and 6 am, the track embankment got damaged.
Several teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are deployed in Thane, Vasai (Palghar), Mahad (Raigad), Chiplun (Ratnagiri), Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, Ghatkopar, Kurla, and Sindhudurg. The NDRF rescued 49 people from a water-logged resort in Thane and 16 villagers in Palghar using boats and life jackets.
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