Red alert in Mumbai as monsoon makes landfall with thunderstorm, heavy rain floods roads

PTC News Desk: Mumbai residents woke up to a rainy Wednesday morning after heavy rain lashed the city overnight, as the monsoon finally arrived in the financial capital.

Due to continuous heavy rainfall in parts of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red alert for Mumbai and Palghar at 4 am on Wednesday for three hours. The warning mentioned thunderstorms, lightning, very heavy rain, and strong winds of 40-60 kmph.

At 7 am, the alert was lowered to an orange alert for the next three hours, with moderate to heavy rainfall expected in Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, Palghar, and Sindhudurg.

Heavy overnight rain led to severe waterlogging in several areas of Mumbai. Visuals from King's Circle in Matunga showed trucks and other vehicles moving through flooded roads, while residential areas in Hindu Colony, Dadar, were also waterlogged.

The southwest monsoon reached Mumbai on Tuesday, 13 days later than usual, bringing relief from the intense heat. The IMD said the monsoon had advanced further into Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra, Telangana, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Bihar.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said all major subways remained open and traffic movement was normal on Tuesday. Local train services and BEST bus operations also continued without any major disruptions.