Mumbai rains: Schools closed, orange alert issued, road and rail links severed amid heavy downpour

Mumbai rains: All government, private and civic-run schools and colleges in Mumbai will remain closed on Tuesday as a precautionary measure following an orange alert issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) for heavy rain and gusty winds in the city, officials said. Mumbaikars woke up to overcast skies and strong winds on Tuesday after relentless rain brought Mumbai and neighbouring districts to a near standstill a day earlier.

Many roads were submerged, trees uprooted, and several incidents of wall and billboard collapses were reported on Monday. The IMD’s orange alert is the third level in a four-stage colour system, above yellow and below red, indicating that people should prepare for extremely bad weather that can cause significant disruptions, transport delays and power outages, an official said.

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Three days of continuous rainfall have brought Mumbai and nearby areas to a standstill, severing road and rail links connecting the financial capital to the rest of the country and leaving thousands of commuters stranded. By Monday morning, the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway and the Mumbai-Konkan route had either been closed or placed under severe restrictions, sharply affecting intercity movement.

The expressway was the worst hit. Traffic on the Mumbai-bound carriageway of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway’s Missing Link bypass section resumed on Monday night after remaining shut for more than 18 hours following a landslide triggered by overnight heavy rain, officials said.

A senior Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation official told PTI that traffic resumed at 10:10 pm after safety inspections were completed at the site. The carriageway had been closed after a landslide near the exit of Tunnel 2, the longest tunnel on the 13-kilometre Missing Link bypass through the Sahyadri mountains, at around 4 am on Monday.

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Nearly 100 tonnes of debris fell at the spot and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said such an incident had never occurred there before. He later described the landslide as an unprecedented event and the extreme rainfall as a force majeure situation while addressing a press conference after reviewing the situation at the State Disaster Management control room.

On the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway, waterlogging slowed traffic and efforts were under way to drain flood water. Near Nagothane on the Konkan route, severe waterlogging left commuters stranded for more than 24 hours. Train services between Pune and Mumbai were suspended after landslides struck the Thakurwadi and Monkey Hill sections and debris fell on the tracks.

Trains arriving from Gujarat were halted mid-journey, leaving passengers stuck in coaches for hours. More than 20 long-distance trains on Western Railway remained stranded across Mumbai and south Gujarat, with more than 40 services affected. At least 10 were cancelled, eight rescheduled and several others diverted.

Heavy rain also caused deaths and damage in Pune district.

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The IMD has warned that the situation could worsen and forecast two more days of heavy rainfall. A red alert has been issued for Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, Nashik and Trimbakeshwar, with the possibility of cloudburst-like conditions and rainfall exceeding 300 mm in isolated areas. Mumbai, Thane and Raigad form the larger Mumbai Metropolitan Region, which has already recorded heavy rain after the late arrival of the monsoon.

Fadnavis specifically warned of a possible cloudburst in parts of Nashik on Tuesday and said the state government was keeping a close watch until at least July 8.

He said NDRF teams had been pre-positioned in vulnerable areas, while SDRF teams had been redeployed based on the latest weather alerts.