Heavy rains batter Mumbai; traffic snarls, disrupted rail services affect thousands

Heavy rains pounded Mumbai and neighbouring districts in Maharashtra on Wednesday, causing flooding in low-lying areas and suspension of several trains services, delayed flights and slow traffic movement on roads. AP

The India Meterological Department's (IMD) Santacruz observatory recorded 206.6 millimetres of rains between 8.30 am and 2.30 pm on Wednesday. AP

The weather department also issued a 'red alert' for the city, its suburbs, Thane and Palghar till Thursday, and asked the authorities to be prepared to handle any situation. Reuters

Due to the overflowing of the Mithi River, over 1,400 people were shifted from Kranti Nagar in Kurla to a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) shelter. Twitter@mybmc

Teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Indian Navy took part in the rescue and relief operations across the city. Twitter@indiannavy

Local and long distance trains services were severely affected on Wednesday. Western Railway suspended trains on slow lines between Churchgate and Vasai Road for a few hours due to water logging at Matunga Road. AP

Disruption in rail services forced several passengers to walk on waterlogged tracks. Thousands of commuters also faced issues while travelling by road as waterlogging in several parts of the city — including Bandra Kurla Complex, Dadar, Sion, and Andheri — led to traffic congestion. AP