Heavy rain continues to lash several parts of Maharashtra including Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Palghar, and Raigad. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for Mumbai for Friday, advising residents to stay indoors until 8:30 am today due to heavy rainfall.
The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) said Mumbai is likely to witness heavy to very heavy rainfall in city and suburbs. The RMC further predicted extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places and occasional gusty winds gusting upto 60-70 kmph are also very likely.
In a post on X, the Mumbai Police urged citizens to go only if necessary and to dial 100 or 112 in case of emergencies. It also provided emergency contact numbers. The heavy rain has led to the cancellation of eleven flights and the diversion of ten others to nearby airports.
Due to heavy rains, a holiday has been declared in schools, colleges and other educational institutions in Raigad, Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad, and in parts of Palghar. Rainfall recorded over the last 24 hours until 8:30 am today measured 44 mm in Mumbai city, 90 mm in the eastern suburbs, and 89 mm in the western suburbs.
On Thursday, several areas of Mumbai recorded more than 100 mm of rainfall between 4 am and 1 pm on Thursday, with Andheri's Malpa Dongri area recording the highest rainfall of 157 mm during this period. Powai's Paspoli received 155 mm rainfall and Dindoshi 154 mm.
Significant rainfall has also been recorded in other parts of Maharashtra, including Mahabaleshwar, Lonavala, Lavasa, and Matheran.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has reviewed the situation and instructed the Raigad collector to assist flood-affected residents. Deputy CM Ajit Pawar also spoke to Divisional Commissioners and other officials in Mumbai, Pune and Thane and instructed them to maintain alertness and for rescue and relief work.
Traffic on the Raigad-Pune route has been halted due to a landslide at Tamhini Ghat. In Pune, heavy rain has led to waterlogging on roads and in homes, and authorities are on high alert. Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and state disaster response teams have been deployed, and the army's airlifting teams are on standby.