Freak Storm Kills 14 After Giant Billboard Blows Down in Mumbai

A sudden dust and rainstorm swept through Mumbai on Monday, killing 14 people and injuring scores of others after a giant billboard collapsed in a suburb of India’s financial capital.

A sudden dust and rainstorm swept through Mumbai on Monday, killing 14 people and injuring scores of others after a giant billboard collapsed in a suburb of India’s financial capital.

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Beams from the advertising hoarding crushed a service station, according to the National Disaster Response Force, which said on X that the agency has rescued 74 people. Rescue workers struggled into the evening to free those trapped beneath the rubble.

The violent gusts of wind, followed by squalls of driving rain, uprooted trees across the city and disrupted flights. A metal structure at an under-construction parking facility also crushed two vehicles, according to the Press Trust of India. 

Monday’s storm, at the height of India’s national election, will draw attention to precarious infrastructure in Mumbai and other Indian cities, where poor quality construction is not uncommon. Massive advertising boards in particular have mushroomed all over the country as the vote gathers pace.

While shoddy structures and corruption have contributed to accidents, more frequent extreme weather caused by global warming is adding a new dimension to the problem for India, and underscores the need to bolster resilience in one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde visited the site of the billboard collapse late on Monday and ordered an audit of all hoardings in the city, according to the PTI. 

“The hoardings, if found illegal and dangerous, would be removed immediately,” he said.

The India Meteorological Department had predicted thunderstorms, lightning and showers, with winds gusting to 50 kilometers per hour in some areas of Mumbai. Squalls could continue until at least Thursday in some areas of the western state of Maharashtra. Cyclonic disturbances are not common at this time of year, weeks away from the first monsoon rains. 

With assistance from Pratik Parija, Debjit Chakraborty and Abhay Singh.

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