Flooded roads, uprooted trees, wall collapse: Monsoon hits Mumbai hard
Heavy rain left key parts of Mumbai, including Dadar station, waterlogged after several areas of the city recorded more than 300 mm of rainfall over the past 24 hours. The rainfall falls in the IMD's "extremely heavy" category, highlighting the intensity of the monsoon downpour.
Mumbaikars woke up to a familiar monsoon scene on Wednesday, with flooded streets, uprooted trees and traffic snarls after more than 300 mm of rain lashed several parts of the city over the past 24 hours. South Mumbai recorded its wettest June day in more than a decade, receiving 248 mm of rainfall.
The widespread disruption left many residents wondering how the rest of the monsoon season would unfold if such destruction was visible within the first 24 hours of the monsoon's official onset.
Expressing concern over the situation, several senior citizens living in Sion's Gandhi Market Committee building told India Today that if such severe waterlogging could occur after the first spell of rain, they feared the challenges the rest of the monsoon season might bring.
With heavy rain continuing across parts of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red alert for Mumbai and Palghar at 4 am on Wednesday, valid for three hours, warning of thunderstorms, lightning, intense to very intense rainfall, and winds of 40-60 kmph.
The alert was downgraded to an orange alert at 7 am for the next three hours, with moderate to intense spells of rain forecast for Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, Palghar and Sindhudurg.
On Wednesday morning, severe waterlogging caused by incessant overnight rain was visible in several parts of Mumbai.
Visuals from King's Circle in Mumbai's Matunga area showed trucks and other vehicles wading through waterlogged roads.
Another visual from early Wednesday morning showed waterlogging in the residential areas of Hindu Colony in Dadar.
The southwest monsoon reached Mumbai on Tuesday, 13 days after its normal onset date, bringing relief from the sweltering heat. In a release, the India Meteorological Department said, "The southwest monsoon has further advanced into the remaining parts of central Arabian Sea, some more parts of Maharashtra including Mumbai, remaining parts of Telangana and Odisha, some more parts of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar."
Amid the heavy downpour, a retaining wall next to a residential building also collapsed on Tuesday night in Mumbai's Vikhroli West.
The crucial Dadar station, where the Central and Western suburban railway lines intersect, was waterlogged as heavy rain battered the city on Wednesday morning.
A car was damaged after a tree fell on it in Dadar during heavy rain.
In fact, several parts of the city recorded over 300 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours between 8 am on Tuesday and 8 am on Wednesday, according to the BMC. The IMD classifies rainfall above 204.4 mm in 24 hours as "extremely heavy."
The normal onset date of the monsoon in Mumbai is June 10. According to IMD data, the monsoon arrived even later in 2023, on June 25. The longest delay was recorded in 1974 and 1958, when the monsoon set in on June 28, the IMD said.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said all major subways in the city remained open on Tuesday, and traffic movement was normal. Railway services on the suburban network operated normally, while BEST bus services also functioned without disruption, according to a BMC statement.
However, traffic congestion was reported on several major roads. Due to overnight rainfall and flooding, the Andheri subway was shut on Wednesday. In a video accessed by India Today, people could be seen wading through knee-deep water on the streets of Andheri on Tuesday night.
Between 8 am and 7 pm on Tuesday, the highest rainfall of 78.96 mm was recorded at Nair Hospital in central Mumbai, followed by NM Joshi Marg-Lower Parel with 78.4 mm and Parel TT with 72.63 mm, according to the BMC.
Meanwhile, Uddhav Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi shared a video of the Andheri subway and took a swipe at the ruling BJP government.
In the western suburbs, Malad Bus Depot recorded 61.8 mm rainfall, while Maharashtranagar in the eastern suburb of Mankhurd recorded 51.2 mm rainfall, the civic body said. The monsoon's arrival in Mumbai thus brought widespread rain, while suburban rail and bus services continued to operate without disruption.
Mumbaikars woke up to a familiar monsoon scene on Wednesday, with flooded streets, uprooted trees and traffic snarls after more than 300 mm of rain lashed several parts of the city over the past 24 hours. South Mumbai recorded its wettest June day in more than a decade, receiving 248 mm of rainfall.
The widespread disruption left many residents wondering how the rest of the monsoon season would unfold if such destruction was visible within the first 24 hours of the monsoon's official onset.
Expressing concern over the situation, several senior citizens living in Sion's Gandhi Market Committee building told India Today that if such severe waterlogging could occur after the first spell of rain, they feared the challenges the rest of the monsoon season might bring.
With heavy rain continuing across parts of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red alert for Mumbai and Palghar at 4 am on Wednesday, valid for three hours, warning of thunderstorms, lightning, intense to very intense rainfall, and winds of 40-60 kmph.
The alert was downgraded to an orange alert at 7 am for the next three hours, with moderate to intense spells of rain forecast for Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, Palghar and Sindhudurg.
On Wednesday morning, severe waterlogging caused by incessant overnight rain was visible in several parts of Mumbai.
Visuals from King's Circle in Mumbai's Matunga area showed trucks and other vehicles wading through waterlogged roads.
Another visual from early Wednesday morning showed waterlogging in the residential areas of Hindu Colony in Dadar.
The southwest monsoon reached Mumbai on Tuesday, 13 days after its normal onset date, bringing relief from the sweltering heat. In a release, the India Meteorological Department said, "The southwest monsoon has further advanced into the remaining parts of central Arabian Sea, some more parts of Maharashtra including Mumbai, remaining parts of Telangana and Odisha, some more parts of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar."
Amid the heavy downpour, a retaining wall next to a residential building also collapsed on Tuesday night in Mumbai's Vikhroli West.
The crucial Dadar station, where the Central and Western suburban railway lines intersect, was waterlogged as heavy rain battered the city on Wednesday morning.
A car was damaged after a tree fell on it in Dadar during heavy rain.
In fact, several parts of the city recorded over 300 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours between 8 am on Tuesday and 8 am on Wednesday, according to the BMC. The IMD classifies rainfall above 204.4 mm in 24 hours as "extremely heavy."
The normal onset date of the monsoon in Mumbai is June 10. According to IMD data, the monsoon arrived even later in 2023, on June 25. The longest delay was recorded in 1974 and 1958, when the monsoon set in on June 28, the IMD said.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said all major subways in the city remained open on Tuesday, and traffic movement was normal. Railway services on the suburban network operated normally, while BEST bus services also functioned without disruption, according to a BMC statement.
However, traffic congestion was reported on several major roads. Due to overnight rainfall and flooding, the Andheri subway was shut on Wednesday. In a video accessed by India Today, people could be seen wading through knee-deep water on the streets of Andheri on Tuesday night.
Between 8 am and 7 pm on Tuesday, the highest rainfall of 78.96 mm was recorded at Nair Hospital in central Mumbai, followed by NM Joshi Marg-Lower Parel with 78.4 mm and Parel TT with 72.63 mm, according to the BMC.
Meanwhile, Uddhav Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi shared a video of the Andheri subway and took a swipe at the ruling BJP government.
In the western suburbs, Malad Bus Depot recorded 61.8 mm rainfall, while Maharashtranagar in the eastern suburb of Mankhurd recorded 51.2 mm rainfall, the civic body said. The monsoon's arrival in Mumbai thus brought widespread rain, while suburban rail and bus services continued to operate without disruption.
