First day, first blow: City unprepared

Nariman Point received the maximum rainfall in the island city at 250mm between 10pm on Sunday night and 11am on Monday morning

Mumbai: With the southwest monsoon reaching Mumbai on Monday, nearly 15 days ahead of schedule, heavy rains lashed the island city starting around 6am and continued unabated till mid-afternoon.

Most parts of the island city received over 100mm rain, and people made their way through waist-deep water (Raju Shinde/ Hindustan Times)

The earliest ever arrival of the monsoon in the city caught everyone unawares. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) kept revising its alerts – from a yellow alert in the morning to an orange alert in between to a red alert at 12:30pm. Most residents left their homes for work in the morning, only to be caught in the showers and storm. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), trailing on monsoon preparedness, grappled with waterlogging in low-lying areas as well as newer spots that rarely got flooded earlier.

Railways and metro services were also affected due to inclement weather. Harbour line services were suspended briefly while waterlogging was reported from the Acharya Atre Chowk metro station on the aqua line.

Nariman Point received the maximum rainfall in the island city at 250mm between 10pm on Sunday night and 11am on Monday morning. Remaining parts of the island city also received over 100mm rain, with people and vehicles making their way through waist-deep water in posh neighbourhoods. The western and eastern suburbs received nearly half the rainfall in the island city.

The BMC blamed the widespread waterlogging on garbage blocking the drains and the underground metro messing with the storm water drain network.