Rain in Mumbai: Heavy rains hit the city, bringing rail and road traffic to a standstill

Mumbai: Pedestrians cross a road in the rain in Mumbai, Wednesday, September 25, 2024. | Photo credit: PTI

After a long hiatus, Mumbai was hit by heavy rains on Wednesday (September 25, 2024), inundating low-lying areas, halting local transport and forcing the diversion of at least 14 incoming flights.

Some streets turned into rivers of fast-flowing water as several areas received more than 100 mm of rain within five hours of the evening.

Also Read: Mumbai Rains LIVE Updates

With local trains halted between Kurla and Thane stations on the Central Line, thousands of commuters were stranded at CSMT and other stations while traffic congestion occurred at several places.

The Indian Meteorological Department has upgraded the orange warning for the city of Mumbai and surrounding districts to a red warning, valid until 8.30 am on Thursday.

By order of the city administration, schools and universities will remain closed on Thursday.

According to BMC data, the island city and its eastern and western suburbs received 87.79 mm, 167.48 mm and 95.57 mm of rainfall between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m.

The highest rainfall was recorded in Mankhurd area in the eastern suburbs at 276 mm, followed by 275 mm in Bhandup and 274 mm in Powai. The highest rainfall was recorded in Sewri Koliwada and Wadala areas in the island city at over 145 mm, while the highest rainfall in the western suburbs was 190 mm.

The Central Railway chief spokesperson said that flooding occurred between Vidyavihar and Mulund on the slow uphill and downhill stretches and between Bhandup and Nahur on the downhill stretches.

“A maximum speed limit of 30 kmph has been imposed between Kanjurmarg and Vikhroli stations,” he said.

Western Railway claimed that local trains on its suburban network were running normally despite heavy rains.

A commuter said the slow train he was travelling in took an hour to reach Ghatkopar from Kurla and was so packed that there was hardly any room to breathe. Another passenger said his train was stuck in Kurla for two hours.

There was also a huge rush at Ghatkopar station, from which the Mumbai Metro also departs.

“Ghatkopar Metro Station at the moment. There is a risk of stampede as there are too many people there. Avoid using public transport at the moment…” wrote X-user @Prasadrajguru1.

Central Railway appealed to the stranded passengers to remain in the trains and not to enter the tracks.

Traffic congestion was observed on Lal Bahadur Shastri (LBS) Marg in Kurla and Ghatkopar, particularly near Sahara Hotel, Kurla Depot and Phoenix Mall Road, Kalpana Cinema and Kalina Air India Road.

Some vehicles, especially two-wheelers, remained stranded.

As the IMD issued a red alert for Mumbai, Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani asked all deputy commissioners to ensure that the respective chief engineers remain in the station control rooms. He also directed the chief engineers of the Storm Water Drainage Department (SWD) to ensure that the SWD staff are on site and the drainage pumps are operational.

Mumbai police appealed to the population not to leave their homes if possible.

IMD scientist Sushma Nair said that a low pressure trough runs from north Konkan to southern Bangladesh over a cyclonic circulation over southern Chhattisgarh and surrounding areas, extending up to the mid-troposphere and trending southward with height.

“This will result in fairly widespread to widespread light/moderate rains over Konkan and Goa during the week,” she said.