Mumbai Rains: Heavy rains lash Mumbai, Pune, Raigad, MD issues ‘red’ alert; waterlogging, traffic disruptions reported | Mumbai News

NEW DELHI: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for Mumbai, Thane, and Raigad as the city experienced a rain-soaked Monday morning, with traffic slowing down during the office rush hour due to waterlogging in low-lying areas across the city and suburbs.The downpour, which began around midnight accompanied by lightning and thunder, continued into Monday morning, inundating low-lying areas such as King’s Circle, Lalbaug, Worli, Dadar, Parel, Kurla and several other parts of the city, according to civic officials. Water-filled potholes further worsened road traffic conditionsCommuters complained of water accumulation on tracks at Dadar, Kurla and Bandra railway stations, and local trains running late by 10 to 15 minutes.However, spokespersons from the Western Railway and Central Railway said suburban services were operating normally despite the continuous rainfall since last night.“A red alert has been issued for Mumbai, Thane and Ratnagiri districts, applicable till 11.30 am on Monday,” a senior IMD Mumbai official said, adding they were keeping a close watch on the weather conditions and further updates will be provided.For the next 24 hours, the IMD has predicted “cloudy sky with heavy to very heavy rain” at isolated places in the city and suburbs with a possibility of thunder and lightning, besides gusty winds at a speed of 30-40 kmph, a civic official said.Meanwhile, citizens of Pune also experienced heavy rainfall on Monday morning.According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), between 8:30 am on Sunday and 5:30 am on Monday, Colaba recorded the highest rainfall at 88.2 mm, followed by Bandra (82 mm) and Byculla (73 mm). Mahul Tata Power Station reported 70.5 mm, while Juhu received 45 mm. Santacruz and Mahalaxmi recorded relatively lower rainfall at 36.6 mm and 36.5 mm, respectively, an IMD official added.However, the forecast for September 16 to 18 suggests only moderate showers, with no alert currently in place.