NEW DELHI: The Indian Meteorological Department on Wednesday issued a red alert warning for Mumbai and neighboring cities, forecasting thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and intense spells of rain with gusty winds.
Amid the torrential rains, significant waterlogging was reported in various parts of the city, where people were seen wading through waist-deep water.Many areas received more than 100 mm of rainfall, resulting in widespread flooding. Two people also reportedly died while working in a stone quarry due to lightning during heavy rain at Varap village in Kalyan taluka.
The BMC declared a holiday for schools and colleges in Mumbai for Thursday.
Taking to X, the BMC stated, “The Indian Meteorological Department has issued a red alert for heavy rain until 8:30 am tomorrow (September 26, 2024). In light of this, and considering the safety of the students, all schools and colleges in Mumbai are declared a holiday tomorrow, Thursday, September 26, 2024.”
“The administration of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation is appealing to citizens to leave their homes only if necessary,” it added.
Flight operations affected
Heavy rain and wind shear also impacted flight operations at Mumbai airport, leading to two flight diversions and seven aborted landings as aircraft had to climb for a second attempt at touchdown.
An Air India flight (AI-656) departed Rajkot at 6:15 pm and was scheduled to land in Mumbai an hour later, but heavy rains forced it to divert to Ahmedabad. An IndiGo flight from Bangkok to Mumbai (6E1052) was also diverted to Ahmedabad at 8:04 pm due to wind shear. By 8:15 pm, seven flights that attempted to land had to perform go-arounds due to weather conditions, according to an airport official. Flight operations were delayed by an average of 30 minutes.
Railway services were also impacted
Central Railway’s train services were halted north of Vidyavihar station due to heavy waterlogging in Kanjurmarg, Nahur, and Bhandup. A Central Railway official stated that the disruption began at 8:10 pm.
Harbour line services were running behind schedule due to heavy rains affecting visibility. Thane recorded 81 mm of rainfall in 12 hours starting at 8:30 am on Wednesday, inundating low-lying areas such as Vandana Talkies and the old Thane stretch, which impacted peak-hour traffic movement, especially during the late evening heavy showers, officials reported.