Heavy Rains Disrupt Mumbai: Trains, Flights Affected Amid Flooding

After a prolonged dry spell, heavy rains lashed Mumbai on Wednesday, flooding low-lying areas, disrupting local train services, and causing the diversion of at least 14 incoming flights.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also urged residents to stay safe and avoid stepping out unless absolutely necessary. “It is a tough situation for everyone as it is raining cats and dogs, with a red alert in place. All local, state, and central government agencies are working in close coordination to mitigate the impact,"

In several areas, roads turned into fast-moving rivers as more than 100 mm of rainfall was recorded within five hours during the evening. The downpour brought local trains to a halt between Kurla and Thane stations on the Central line, leaving thousands of commuters stranded at CSMT and other stations, while traffic jams clogged various parts of the city. 

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an orange alert for Mumbai stating Heavy to very “heavy rainfall & Thunderstorm with lightning & gusty winds at isolated place”

Civic authorities ordered the closure of schools and colleges for Thursday as a precautionary measure.

According to data from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the island city, eastern suburbs, and western suburbs received 87.79 mm, 167.48 mm, and 95.57 mm of rainfall, respectively, between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. The eastern suburbs, particularly Mankhurd, experienced the highest rainfall at 276 mm, followed by 275 mm in Bhandup and 274 mm in Powai. Sewri Koliwada and Wadala in the island city recorded over 145 mm, while the western suburbs saw a maximum of 190 mm.

The Central Railway's chief spokesperson reported waterlogging between Vidyavihar and Mulund on both the UP and DOWN slow lines, as well as on the DOWN line between Bhandup and Nahur. He noted, "Between Kanjurmarg and Vikhroli stations, a caution order of 30 kmph (speed) has been imposed."

Meanwhile, Western Railway maintained that despite the heavy rainfall, local trains on its suburban network were running normally.

Commuters, however, faced significant delays. One passenger said that the slow train he was on took an hour to travel from Kurla to Ghatkopar and was "jam-packed with almost no space to breathe." Another commuter reported that his train had been stuck at Kurla for two hours. Ghatkopar railway station, which also serves as a hub for the Mumbai Metro, saw huge crowds. A concerned X user (@Prasadrajguru1) posted, "Ghatkopar Metro station right now. There's a chance of stampede as there's too much crowd. Avoid taking any mode of public transport right now...."

The Central Railway urged stranded passengers to remain inside the trains and avoid stepping onto the tracks for their safety.

Traffic jams were widespread across the city, with significant congestion reported on Lal Bahadur Shastri (LBS) Marg in Kurla and Ghatkopar, particularly near Sahara Hotel, Kurla Depot, Phoenix Mall Road, Kalpana Cinema, and Kalina Air India Road. Several vehicles, especially two-wheelers, broke down amid the flooding.

As the IMD's red alert remained in place, Mumbai civic commissioner Bhushan Gagrani directed all assistant commissioners to ensure their executive engineers were stationed in ward control rooms. He also instructed chief engineers from the Stormwater Drains (SWD) department to ensure that dewatering pumps were operational and staff remained on-site.

Mumbai police issued an advisory urging residents to stay indoors unless absolutely necessary.

IMD scientist Sushma Nair explained the weather pattern behind the deluge, stating, "A trough runs from north Konkan to south Bangladesh across a cyclonic circulation over south Chhattisgarh and its neighborhood extending to the middle tropospheric level tilting southwards with height." This, she added, "will lead to fairly widespread to widespread light/moderate rainfall over Konkan and Goa during the week."  

(This story has been slightly reworked from an auto-generated PTI feed.)