Heavy lashes have hit Mumbai and its surrounding areas in the last 24 hours, resulting in widespread waterlogging disturbances in the services of suburban train operations and the halting of flights. Some areas in the city recorded over 300 mm of rainfall within six hours, from 1 a.m. to 7 a.m. 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, as over 315 mm of rainfall was recorded.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has declared a holiday for all the civic, government, and private schools and colleges in the city to avoid inconvenience to students. Reportedly, over 50 flights have been canceled, and many airlines took to X (formerly Twitter) to warn passengers to check the status of the flights.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde chaired a meeting at Mantralaya on Monday and visited the control room of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). State Minister for Relief and Rehabilitation and Disaster Management, Anil Patil, was also present. After the meeting, Shinde went to the disaster department control room at the civic headquarters and reviewed the situation.
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 neighboring Thane were suspended due to waterlogging at various places.
According to the reports, commuters complained that the operational suburban services were running late and that there was a heavy crowd of commuters at some of the key stations and on trains.
The CR officials said due to heavy showers and high tides in MUMBAI, local train operations in the suburban section were affected and asked people to travel only in case of emergency.
Videos of people submerged in water till their waists and cars lined up bumper to bumper on Mumbai roads are making the rounds on the internet. All government, private, and municipal schools and colleges have been shut down across the city.
Visuals of train services between Kasara and Titwala stations in Thane district were suspended after soil covered the tracks between Atgaon and Transit stations, disrupting rail traffic on the busy Kalyan-Kasara route.
Reportedly, several teams of NDRF are deployed in Thane, Vasai ( Palghar), Mahad (Raigad), Chiplun (Ratnagiri), Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara Ghatkopar, Kurla and Sindhudurg. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) rescued 49 people from a water-logged resort in Maharashtra’s Thane and 16 villagers in Palghar.
