India's weather office issues red alert for Mumbai amid heavy rains and flooding

India's weather office issues red alert for Mumbai amid heavy rains and flooding
July 8, 2022, 2:01 pm

Mumbai floods: Commuters had to walk through floodwaters past stranded motor vehicles - BBC via Getty Images

India’s weather office has issued a red alert for Mumbai, with heavy rains continuing to lash the city and neighboring districts, the BBC reported.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said, the city, in west India, is expected to see more heavy rainfall on Friday, leading to increased floods.

Monsoon rains are common in Mumbai around this time of the year.

On Thursday (July 7), Mumbai's civic body banned people from visiting beaches on the days for which the weather forecasting agency has predicted heavy rainfall.

Parts of the coastal city have been reportedly inundated with waist-deep water since Monday, bringing it to a standstill.

Many commuters were forced to walk through the floodwaters and past stranded vehicles in a bid to reach their workplace, the BBC said.

Monsoon rains are common in Mumbai around this time of the year - BBC via Getty images

Bus services and commuter trains - which are the lifeline of the city's transport system - were also disrupted, leaving people stranded on stations for hours.

Outside of the city heavy rains also battered Mumbai’s neighboring districts with traffic on a major national highway that connects the city to Goa diverted after a landslide in Chiplun city.

37 dead, 25 still missing after massive landslide in Manipur, India

The country’s weather department has also issued flood alerts for Kerala, a state in the south of India, and parts of Himalayan state, Himachal Pradesh, amid incessant rain.

Monsoon rains in Mumbai are common at this time of year, but experts say climate change and unchecked urban development have made rainfall more intense and less predictable over the last few years, the British broadcaster said.

Every year thousands of people migrate to Mumbai to find work, fueling rapid construction, that is often unregulated, the BBC said.

India’s monsoon rains cover entire country but still down on average

Authorities said that work to remove the debris was underway, but that the movement of vehicles along the route would be affected for at least two days, the BBC reported, citing news channel NDTV.

Source: BBC

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