The India Meteorological Department has issued a red alert for Mumbai as heavy rains continue to lash the city and its neighboring districts.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that the city is likely to receive heavy to very heavy rains on Friday, which could lead to further flooding. Since Monday, many parts of the city were submerged in water, bringing life to a standstill.
Monsoon rains are common around this time of year in Mumbai. But experts say climate change and uncontrolled urban development have made rainfall more intense and less predictable in recent years.
Thousands of people migrate to Mumbai every day in search of jobs, which fuels rapid construction, which is often unregulated.
Many areas have old drainage systems and this leads to flooding. The city’s vast mangrove swamps, which act as a natural buffer during floods, have also been created over the past few decades.
On Thursday, Mumbai’s civic body banned people from visiting beaches on the day the weather forecast agency has predicted heavy rains. In many areas, waterlogging led to heavy traffic jams and people were seen passing through gray and black muddy water, which filled the roads.
Bus services and commuter trains, which are the lifeline of the city’s transport system, were also disrupted, leaving people stranded at stations for hours.
The neighboring districts of Mumbai have also received heavy rains. Traffic on a major national highway connecting Mumbai with the tourist state of Goa was diverted following a landslide in the town of Chiplun.
Meanwhile, the IMD has issued a flood alert for the southern state of Kerala and parts of the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh amid incessant rains.