Red alert issued in Mumbai amid heavy rain

Mumbai, the Bollywood hub and largest city in India, experienced over 300 millimeters of rain fall in a few hours.

The city, which is home to around 12 million people, had 11.8 inches of rain fall in six hours, ending at seven in the morning, according to a statement from municipal officials.

Over two million people are said to have been impacted by overflowing rivers in other locations, while airlines had disruptions and educational institutions had to close as a result of heavy rainfall in the city.

The authorities also stated that schools and universities were closed for the day due to the possibility of further strong storms and a high tide of 4.40 meters (14 feet) in the coastal city.

Eknath Shinde, the chief minister of Maharashtra, a western state with Mumbai as its hub, stated on X that “there is heavy traffic on the roads and rail lines too have been affected,” and he advised people to stay home unless absolutely essential.

Many places had vehicles half buried in knee-deep water, making it difficult for commuters to walk, as traffic jammed the city’s Eastern and Western Express routes.

Some long-distance trains had to be canceled due to water on the tracks, according to railway authorities, while television footage showed some suburban passenger trains—a vital source of everyday transportation for millions of people—halting on flooded lines.

According to airport sources, runway operations were suspended for almost an hour due to a combination of bad visibility and rain.

The website of flight monitoring service Flightradar24 indicated that over 300 aircraft had been delayed and 36 had been canceled.

The largest and least expensive airline in India, IndiGo, issued a statement claiming that the intense rain had disrupted its Mumbai flights. SpiceJet, another low-cost carrier, also issued a warning about weather-related disruptions.

Days after record-breaking rainfall in the nation’s capital, New Delhi, which resulted in the deadly collapse of an airport roof, there was a torrential deluge.