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Earliest monsoon in 75 years sinks Mumbai; 6 killed in 2 states
The southwest monsoon made its onset over Mumbai on Monday, more than a fortnight before its normal date.
At least six people died and several others went missing in rain-related incidents across four states on Monday, with Maharashtra’s capital, Mumbai, bearing the brunt of the earliest arrival of monsoon in 75 years.
The southwest monsoon made its onset over Mumbai on Monday, more than a fortnight before its normal date, with India Meteorological Department (IMD) officials saying that it is the earliest arrival of rains in the country’s financial capital in 75 years. According to police, four people were killed after being struck by lightning, while another drowned.
IMD also upgraded it weather alert for the day from an “orange” to a “red’ warning”, signalling a high likelihood of extremely heavy rainfall in the region.
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In other parts of Maharashtra, including Thane, Palghar and Konkan districts, roads, railway tracks, bridges, farmland and some residential areas were submerged, and hundreds of families were shifted to safer places.
Ten teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed in the coastal districts of Konkan, along with Sangli, Satara and Kolhapur districts in western Maharashtra. Three teams of the NDRF have been permanently deployed in Mumbai.
Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered the administration to be on high alert for rescue and relief work.
“Lightning strikes claimed the lives of three farmers — Roshan Kalekar (30) at Karjat in Raigad district; Vikram Karale (55) and Ranjanabai Samudhay (55) in Ahmedpur tehsil in Latur district. In Kalyan taluka, Yash Late (16) died after being struck by lightning during a storm,” an official aware of the matter said.
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The official added that lightning strikes also claimed the lives of four calves at Gurunath Kashinath Bangar in Pune.
“In Ratnagiri, 48-year-old Rajendra Kolambe was swept away in flood waters while he was crossing a bridge on his bicycle in Dapoli tehsil. The rains also led to flooding of major rivers and submergence of areas along the banks, including temples, farms and villages,” another official said.
A total of 48 people were rescued from flood waters in Solapur, Pune and Satara districts, while five were rescued from the Pandav Kada waterfall near Kharghar.
In Mumbai, rail and road traffic was affected as railway tracks and roads were submerged in several places and roads were swept away in flood waters in some areas.
Several roads in the Konkan region, such as the road from Mahad to Raigad fort, were closed for vehicular movement due to waterlogging. The Ulhas river was flowing close to the warning level near Badlapur, while the Jagbudi river in Ratnagiri was flowing above the danger mark.
Fadnavis reviewed the situation with chief secretary Sujata Saunik and ordered the administration to remain on alert 24x7 for rescue and relief work in case of emergencies.
The weather department also issued a red alert for heavy rainfall in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, which have been thrown into a disarray following heavy downpour in the past 24 hours with the onset of monsoon in the southern states much before time.
Karnataka, which received 21.5 mm of rainfall in last 24 hours of the total 179.5 mm received in May till Monday, would continue to receive heavy rainfall in the next five days, the IMD said, while issuing the red alert. The alert predicted possibility of extremely heavy rainfall over next 24 hours.
A three-year-old girl died after a wall of her rain-drenched ancestral home collapsed at about 2.30 am on Monday in Gokak town, Belagavi district. Her four-year-old sister, who was also in the room at the time, sustained injuries and is currently undergoing treatment at the government hospital in Gokak, officials said.
According to Gokak Town Police, the deceased has been identified as Keerti, daughter of Nagesh Pujari. At the time of the incident, the children were sleeping in one room while their parents were in another part of the house.
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Heavy rains disrupted life in Dakshina and Uttara Kannada districts also. Several parts of Mangaluru city reported waterlogging and traffic snarls as the drainage systems failed to cope with the downpour. Incidents of landslides were reported from hilly regions across the district, officials said.
According to the district administration, rainfall figures over the past 24 hours crossed 150 mm in multiple areas, with Sullia’s Bellare recording the highest at 200.5 mm, followed by Bantwal’s Sarapady and Puttur’s Belandur with 190 mm each.
Heavy rainfall continued to wreak havoc in Kerala, which has received 73.6 mm of rainfall in past 24 hours of the total 320 mm received so far in May, reported wide spread rainfall from at least 11 districts, for which red alert has been issued for three more days. Orange alert has been issued to remaining Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Alappuzha districts.
According to the chief minister’s office, the intense monsoon has claimed four lives in the state so far. At least 29 houses were destroyed and 868 partially damaged across Kerala, the CMO said.
Unlike the western coast, lesser amount of rainfall was received in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, which have also been covered by the southwest monsoon. Andhra received 6.2 mm and Tamil Nadu 7.5 mm in the past 24 hours.
Goa, which received 54.8 mm of rain in past 24 hours of the total 495.9 mm this month, reported several minor landslides and disruption of traffic at several places. Between March 1, 2025 and May 26, 2025 Goa has received 514 mm of rainfall as opposed to the normal 44.6 mm for this period.
