Heavy Rain Bring Mumbai To Standstill

Activities in Mumbai has been on a standstill du yo heavy downpour.  India’s financial hub Mumbai couldn’t function  snarling road, rail and air traffic as the incessant downpour waterlogged low-lying areas.

The local weather office warned that heavy showers would continue in the region for at least another 48 hours.

“An upper air circulation in the west and a low-pressure area in the east are working together to create an intense system which is causing the current weather and rainfall,’’ Indian Meteorological Department official KS Hosalikar said.

The met department has issued a red alert for the region and people have been asked to stay indoors.

Mumbai Police issued alerts for traffic disruptions due to flooding on its Twitter handle.

Residents of low-lying areas were being moved out by the city administration and schools and offices had closed early in the city and other affected areas, NDTV news channel reported.

Television channels showed people wading through waist-deep water and cars stranded on roads that looked like rivers.

The city’s rail transport system was disrupted and several flights delayed by a “Typhoon-like weather which canceled my flight to Delhi for an Indo Australian meeting.

“Telling my Aussie friends I’m ‘Down Under’ water in Mumbai,’’ tweeted Mumbai-based businessman Anand Mahindra, Chairman of the Mahindra group.

One of the biggest cities on Earth with approximately 19 million inhabitants, Mumbai receives heavy rainfall every monsoon season between June and September.

Flooding in the city in 2005 claimed over 1,000 lives, caused mudslides, swept away shanties and snapped electricity lines.