Heavy rain brings Mumbai to a standstill, trains hit, schools shut

Mangalore Today News Network

Mumbai, July 8, 2024: Heavy rain overnight pounded large parts of Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), affecting suburban and long-distance trains, roads, and highways. This deluge stranded lakhs of commuters on their way to work on the first working day of the week and led to the closure of schools for the morning session.

In just six hours, several areas in the city recorded a staggering 200 mm to 300 mm of rainfall from 1 am to 7 am, according to the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The downpour persisted, with a forecast predicting heavy rain for the next two days.

#WATCH | Waterlogging triggered by heavy rain in King’s Circle area of Mumbai pic.twitter.com/v4ByKwhb3h

— ANI (@ANI) July 8, 2024

The city’s residents woke up to waterlogged roads, railway tracks, flooded low-lying areas, water in homes, shops, or offices, blocked subways, and many places rendered inaccessible for commuting.

The weather office has predicted light to moderate spell of rainfall over Mumbai today. NDRF teams have been deployed in Thane, Vasai ( Palghar), Mahad (Raigad), Chiplun (Ratnagiri), Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara Ghatkopar, Kurla and Sindhudurg.

NDRF said it has also deployed three regular teams at Andheri and one team at Nagpur to "avert any untoward incident and give an appropriate response in case of any flood-like situation."

Commuters also encountered delays or cancellations of suburban local trains - Mumbai’s lifeline, which transports over 8.50 million people daily. Huge crowds gathered at almost all railway stations along the Central Railway and Western Railway networks spanning Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, and Raigad (MMR).

Additionally, crucial trains that ferry thousands of commuters on the Mumbai-Gujarat, Mumbai-Pune, and Mumbai-Kolhapur routes faced cancellations, massive delays, or became stranded at stations en route.

Within Mumbai, several subways, including those in Santacruz, Andheri, Jogeshwari, Malad, Kandivali, and Dahisar, were inundated with 3-5 feet of water, halting east-west traffic. Railway tracks were flooded near Kalyan, Dombivali, Ulhasnagar, Thane, Bhandup, Kurla, Sion, and Wadala, further impacting suburban train services.

#WATCH | Maharashtra: Severe waterlogging in different parts of Mumbai, following incessant heavy rainfall. pic.twitter.com/O6VUuYOknr

— ANI (@ANI) July 8, 2024

Several housing complexes in Dahisar, Borivali, Kandivali, Malad, Jogeshwari, Andheri, Santacruz, Sion, Wadala, Kurla, Ghatkopar, and Bhandup experienced severe waterlogging. Scores of vehicles, both big and small, were either stuck or partially to fully submerged in different areas of the city. There were numerous incidents of tree falls and other minor accidents, though no casualties have been reported so far.