Heavy rains lash Mumbai, Thane; schools, colleges to remain closed

Several parts of Maharashtra, including Mumbai, Thane and adjoining areas, on Wednesday evening, received very heavy rainfall along with strong winds, lightning and thunderstorms.
Heavy rains since evening also caused waterlogging, affecting vehicular movement. The services of local trains on the Central Railway line, as well as some flights, were also impacted.
For Mumbai, the IMD has extended the red alert warning till 8 am on Thursday. In view of the ‘red alert’, the civic body has declared holiday to all schools and colleges in the city on September 26.
For today, September 25, the IMD has issued a red alert for five districts — Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Pune.
An orange alert has been issued for Palghar, Sindhudurg, Nashik, Ahmednagar, Aurangabad, Jalna and Beed.
The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC), Mumbai, said that thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and heavy to very heavy rainfall with gusty winds reaching 40-50 kmph towards night/early morning are very likely.
“Moderate widespread rainfall over Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai in the past 6 hrs. Trend likely to continue (for) next few hours, intermittent showers, cloudy skies,” said K S Hosalikar, Head-IMD Pune, in a post on X.
For September 26, the RMC has issued a red alert for Palghar and Nashik, indicating extremely heavy rainfall and thunderstorms with lightning and gusty winds are very likely in isolated places. Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, Dhule, Nandurbar and Pune regions have been issued an orange alert.
“Thunderstorm accompanied with lightning and heavy to very heavy rainfall with gusty winds reaching 40-50 kmph,” the RMC said, forecasting Mumbai weather for the next 48 hours.
The Mumbai division of Central Railway said that due to heavy rain and waterlogging at several locations between Vidyavihar and Mulund stations, UP and Down slow train services were affected and were running with restricted speed.
“Due to heavy rains and waterlogging, local trains are delayed and operating at a cautious speed. We urge passengers to stay on board as you are safest inside the train. As the water recedes, the train will continue its journey to your destination. Your cooperation is essential for ensuring everyone’s safety,” said Central Railway.
However, Western Railway said that local trains on Western line of Mumbai suburban network were running normally.
Some flight were also impacted due to bad weather conditions and air traffic congestion. SpiceJet and IndiGo airlines urged passengers to keep a check on their flight status.
 
The Maximum City also reported waterlogging and traffic snarls at several places.
Mumbai Traffic Police said that traffic was slow at Bhatia Bagh, CST Junction, BMC Road, GPO, and Avatar Singh Bedi Chowk due to heavy rains. Rain also affected traffic on the south and north channels in Bandra, BKC limits.
The northbound traffic on Sion Bridge was affected by a taxi’s breakdown, and at Dharavi T Junction, a truck’s breakdown affected the traffic.
“These rain bands are so huge and moving in a slow manner that it is likely to cause travel disruptions. TC, Mumbaikars!,” posted X handle ‘Mumbai Rains,’ which is managed by Rushikesh Agre, an independent weather enthusiast.
Several social media users also shared videos of slow movement of traffic and waterlogging.
Mumbai Traffic Police informed that Andheri Subway was closed for vehicular movement due to 1.5 ft waterlogging, and South bound traffic had been diverted via Gokhale bridge. Whereas, vehicular traffic at Malad Subway was closed due to 2-2.5 ft waterlogging and traffic was diverted via Sainath Road.
According to the IMD, isolated extremely heavy rainfall is very likely over Konkan and Madhya Maharashtra regions on September 25 and 26.