Mumbai rains: IMD issues orange alert after monsoon rains flood India's financial capital

An 'orange' alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall has been issued in Mumbai for the next 24 hours, according to India Meteorological Department. A 'Yellow' alert for heavy rain has been issued for tomorrow.

Heavy rains flooded roads and railway tracks on Monday in India's financial capital, pushing authorities to shut some schools and colleges, while overflowing rivers in the northeastern state of Assam affected more than 2 million people.

More than 300 mm (11.8 inches) of rain lashed Mumbai in a six-hour duration till 7.00 a.m (0130 GMT), Mumbai's municipal body said, adding that more heavy showers are forecast later in the day.


Commuters waded through knee-deep water that partially submerged vehicles in many areas, as traffic piled up on the city's Eastern and Western Express highways.

Railways network handicapped:
Swapnil Nila, chief public relations officer of the Central Railway (CR), said train services on the fast line of the main corridor between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in south Mumbai and neighbouring Thane were suspended due to waterlogging at various places.

Suburban services were running on the slow line, he said.

Commuters complained that the operational suburban services were running late. There was heavy rush of commuters at some of the key stations and in trains.

The CR officials said due to heavy rain and high tide in Mumbai, local train movement in the suburban section was affected and asked people to avoid travelling unless unavoidable.

The Western Railway said suburban trains were running up to 10 minutes late because water was above the track level between Matunga Road and Dadar due to heavy showers.

"High capacity water pumps are being utilised to drain water away from the railway tracks to ensure a smooth commute for Mumbaikars," a Western Railway spokesperson said.

Heavy rains and low visibility led to the suspension of runway operations at the Mumbai airport from 2.22 am to 3.40 am on Monday and 27 diversions were reported, sources said.

Flight operations disrupted:
Heavy rains and low visibility hit flight operations at Mumbai airport too. The disruption began in the early hours after poor visibility led to suspension of runway operations from 2.22am to 3.40 am, said a source. A total of 27 flights diverted to airports in Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Indore, etc due to the runway closure.

The disruption affected flight schedules through the morning with departure flights delayed by over an hour as priority is given to arrival flights. The weather-led disruption left hundreds of passengers stranded at the Mumbai airport as flights were inordinately delayed.

Schools closed:
The state government declared a holiday on Monday for all schools in Mumbai, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts. Maharashtra School Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar made the announcement in the state legislative council here.

"Mumbai received rains last night. We have issued a notification in the morning declaring a holiday today for all the schools in Mumbai city, Mumbai suburban, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts," he said.