Relentless monsoon rains battered India's financial capital, Mumbai, on Monday, leaving at least 10 people dead, triggering landslides, and bringing transport and daily life to a standstill across parts of Maharashtra.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red alert at 4:00 a.m. for Mumbai, Thane, Palghar and Raigad districts, warning of extremely heavy rainfall accompanied by wind gusts of 50–60 km/h over the following three hours. Authorities urged residents to remain indoors unless travel was absolutely necessary.
According to News18, several low-lying areas of Mumbai were submerged after hours of intense rainfall, disrupting suburban train services, delaying flights, and causing severe traffic congestion across major roads. Civic authorities deployed emergency teams to clear waterlogged streets and monitor vulnerable locations as heavy showers continued throughout the day.
The worsening weather prompted authorities to shut all schools and colleges in Mumbai, Thane and Palghar on Monday. Mumbai University also postponed all examinations scheduled for July 6, saying revised dates would be announced later.
Police and local officials said a series of rain-related accidents claimed multiple lives. In Kurla, a 63-year-old man was killed when a tree collapsed onto a roadside shop. Another man drowned after falling into an uncovered manhole hidden beneath floodwaters in Saki Naka. In Chembur, an 11-year-old student died after a tree fell on a school bus.
Elsewhere, two young men lost their lives after entering the Pandavkada Waterfall in Navi Mumbai's Kharghar area, despite seasonal restrictions due to the dangers posed during the monsoon. In the Mira Road-Bhayandar area, a motorcyclist was killed when a coconut tree toppled onto him during strong winds.
Rescue operations were underway near Lohagad Fort, where a landslide trapped a family in Patan village. Kolhapur Range Inspector General of Police Ranjan Kumar Sharma said emergency teams had been deployed to reach those stranded.
The heavy rains also severely disrupted road connectivity between Mumbai and Pune. Authorities closed both the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and the old Mumbai-Pune Highway after a concrete pillar collapsed on the expressway and floodwaters inundated diversion routes through Maval and Tamhini Ghat. Traffic near Tunnel-2 was diverted following a landslide.
Rail services were also affected after a landslide struck the southeastern ghat section between Karjat and Lonavala, disrupting operations on Central Railway routes.
Officials have advised the public to avoid non-essential travel between Mumbai and Pune until conditions improve and to strictly follow weather advisories and safety instructions as rescue and restoration efforts continue.
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