IMD issues heavy rain alert for Mumbai; holiday for schools, colleges

According to officials, local trains, considered the lifeline of Mumbai, were running normally though some services were slightly delayed

Mumbai: Vehicular and rail traffic in Mumbai resumed on Thursday, a day after heavy rains battered the city, inundating low-lying areas, halting local trains in their tracks and forcing the diversion of at least 14 incoming flights.

A 45-year-old woman drowned in a drain overflowing due to heavy rains in suburban Andheri on Wednesday, police said. Rains stopped in most parts of the city on Thursday morning though skies were overcast.

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Local trains, considered the lifeline of Mumbai, were running normally though some services were slightly delayed, as per officials. Buses of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking also hit the roads since early morning.

The India Meteorological Department earlier issued a red alert for Mumbai and its adjoining districts Thane, Palghar, and Raigad for Thursday morning.

The civic body said the IMD predicted “thunderstorm accompanied with lightning and heavy to very heavy rainfall with gusty winds reaching 40-50 kmph” in its weather update issued at 8 am.

The extremely heavy rainfall in Mumbai on Wednesday prompted the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to announce a holiday for all schools and colleges on Thursday.

Schools and colleges in Thane, Palghar, Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad were also closed on Thursday after heavy rains. The Mumbai civic body and police advised people in the city and surrounding areas to stay indoors as much as possible.

“Mumbaikars, if not required, avoid stepping out of home,” the BMC posted on X. After heavy rains on Wednesday, some roads, including in Sonapur area of Bhandup, virtually turned into rivers of fast-moving water as several areas received more than 100 mm of rain in five hours of evening.

The Ghatkopar-Andheri Road, Khairani Road, LBS Marg and a few other roads were flooded with chest-deep water at some locations. Many people complained their belongings were damaged as water had entered their homes.

As local trains stopped on Wednesday between Kurla and Thane stations on the Central line, thousands of commuters were stranded at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in south Mumbai and other stations, while there were traffic jams at various places.

The Central Railway’s suburban services were thrown out of gear at night for a few hours, when the railway tracks got submerged at a few locations between Sion and Thane stations on its main corridor and between Chunabhatti and Mankhurd stations on the Harbour corridor.