Torrential rain inundated India's financial hub Mumbai, causing widespread flooding and resulting in at least four fatalities. The deluge also brought the city to a standstill, forcing schools to close on Thursday before conditions slightly improved in the afternoon.
Parts of Mumbai experienced approximately 275mm of rain on Wednesday evening, severely disrupting road traffic and delaying the trains that millions of residents rely on daily. Officials confirmed that four people died due to rain-related incidents. Prime Minister Narendra Modi canceled a trip to Pune, nearly 200km from Mumbai, after authorities issued a red alert due to the heavy rainfall.
With more rain anticipated in Mumbai, authorities issued a citywide red alert and advised residents to stay indoors. Schools and colleges were closed, and fishermen were urged to remain ashore until Friday. Drone footage shared on social media depicted congested highways filled with vehicles, some with drivers still inside and others abandoned by frustrated motorists. Hundreds of thousands of commuters were stranded on the roads for hours.
India's monsoon rains, which typically begin in June and retreat by September 17, started to recede from the northwest earlier this week, nearly a week later than usual, according to the state-run India Meteorological Department (IMD). This extended monsoon has helped replenish reservoirs but has also damaged crop harvests in some states. Heavy rain was also forecast for parts of the southern state of Telangana on Thursday.
In neighboring Bangladesh, the rain provided relief after a week of intense heat, but it also flooded streets, exacerbating the already severe traffic congestion in the capital Dhaka and other areas.
