Waterlogged Mumbai on alert for heavy rain

India's weather department said the coastal districts of the Maharashtra state are likely to experience moderate to heavy rains and has warned residents to not step out unless necessary.

"An orange alert has been issued for Mumbai for the next five days, but we are still monitoring the situation there," said the director of the Indian Meteorological Department, Jayanta Sarkar.

Meanwhile, the capital, Mumbai city, which has been witnessing incessant rains since last week, witnessed traffic snarls and locals wading through waterlogged roads caused by poor drainage.

India Meteorological Department (IMD) recorded that the city saw 'heavy to very heavy' showers overnight. In the 24-hour period, that ended 8:30am on Tuesday, Santacruz weather station – representative of Mumbai – logged 193.6mm rain.

According to IMD norms, rainfall in the range of 64.5mm and 115.5mm in 24 hours is considered 'heavy', while that in the range of 115.6mm and 204.4mm is 'very heavy'.

Due to waterlogging, traffic movement was slow in several areas of the metropolis. These included Matunga Circle, Sakkar Panchayat, Hindmata Junction, Neelam Junction, Khar subway, Sea Link gate (towards Worli), Dadar Junction, Mankhurd railway bridge, Everard Nagar, among others.

However, rain relented in the Lonavla Ghat section, with 166mm rainfall being recorded in the area in the past 24 hours, ending 6am. Road and rail transport between Mumbai and Pune was functioning smoothly.

Heavy rain is also impacting India's Assam state, depriving the locals of their livelihoods and homes.

Floods brought extensive damage as it has inundated 40,000 hectares of cultivated land and washed away cattle, impacting millions of people, most of whom depend on agriculture for their living.

With cattle washed away and crops inundated, locals, who were compelled to take shelter on roadside tents, were at the mercy of government aid for food supplies and other essential needs.

"All the houses here have been damaged by floods. Our wheat, rice, hens, cows…everything has drowned. The farmlands have drowned too. The floods took away the fish from the fisheries. We are breaking ourselves every day and going through extreme difficulties to get food. The government is not providing us much relief," said flood victim Zareena Khatun on Tuesday.

- Reuters