Mumbai rains: Airport operations affected as city experiences heavy rainfall; waterlogging, traffic jams in suburbs

Less than a week since Mumbai came to a standstill due to continuous rainfall, the Mumbai International Airport said it had briefly suspended operations due to heavy rains. Traffic was affected in several parts of the city on Monday morning, with many areas also facing water-logging. However, the airport spokesperson also clarified that no flight had been cancelled. “Due to heavy rains, the visibility is changing every minute. Since 9.15 am, the visibility at the airport is fluctuating. There is a delay due to weather. No cancellation as of now but three diversions took place till now,” the statement said. In Mumbai, parts of Sion, Bandra, the Western and Eastern express highways, and Andheri were waterlogged and experiencing heavy rainfall which is expected to continue for the next few hours, Skymet reported. Traffic jams were also reported from Bandra, Santacruz and Vile Parle and Borivali.

Dear Mumbaikars, the city has experience heavy rainfall in the last couple of hours, especially in the eastern suburb. We regret all the inconvenience that has showered along. But the intensity is on decline now & our teams will try to pump out logged water as soon as possible.

— माझी Mumbai, आपली BMC (@mybmc) July 8, 2019

“Office goers said it was taking close to two hours to travel from Borivali to Bandra because of the ongoing Metro construction which has narrowed down the Western Express Highway. They said potholes near the airport flyover at Vile Parle (east) also added to their problems. Potholes on this particular stretch caused traffic jams all the way till Goregaon (east),” Hindustan Times reported. However, the Central Railways tweeted saying there was “no disruption” in the functioning of the local trains on the line. “Central Railway local trains are running normally on the main line, the harbour line, the trans-harbour line and the 4th corridor (Kharkopar-Nerul/Belapur). There is no disruption anywhere,” the statement said.

Mumbai: Water logging and traffic jam in parts of the city following heavy rainfall. #Maharashtra pic.twitter.com/cYkM8AMyAS

— ANI (@ANI) July 8, 2019

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The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation issued a statement soon after Twitter users posted updates about the waterlogging and traffic situation in various parts of the city. “Dear Mumbaikars, the city has experienced heavy rainfall in the last couple of hours, especially in the eastern suburb. We regret all the inconvenience. But the intensity is on decline now and our teams will try to pump out logged water as soon as possible,” the statement said. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said that parts of the city will experience heavy to very heavy rainfall throughout Monday, adding that high tides are expected around 4 pm.