Mumbai Rains: How Did One Day Of Heavy Spell Brought Maximum City To Standstill?

With the southwest monsoon reaching Mumbai on Monday-nearly a fortnight earlier than expected-torrential rain battered the island city from around 6am and continued steadily until mid-afternoon.

The monsoon's earliest-ever arrival took everyone by surprise.

Photo Credit: PTI

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) kept updating its advisories-starting with a yellow alert in the morning, upgrading to orange, and finally issuing a red alert at 12:30pm.

Most residents had already left home for work by the time the downpour intensified, only to find themselves caught in the deluge.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), lagging in its monsoon preparedness, struggled to manage waterlogging in both known flood-prone areas and newer locations that rarely experienced flooding in the past, reported the Hindustan Times.

Railway and metro operations were disrupted due to the adverse weather. Services on the Harbour line were briefly suspended, and waterlogging was reported at Acharya Atre Chowk metro station on the Aqua Line.

Nariman Point recorded the highest rainfall in the island city, with 250mm falling between 10pm on Sunday night and 11am on Monday morning.

Other parts of the island city also saw over 100mm of rain, with residents and vehicles seen wading through waist-deep water in affluent neighbourhoods.

The western and eastern suburbs received approximately half the rainfall recorded in the island city.

The BMC attributed the widespread flooding to rubbish obstructing drains and disruptions caused by the underground metro works interfering with the stormwater drainage system.