Mumbai sees wettest July, landslide in Kerala hill station

With monsoon now covering the entire country, several places across India have been witnessing heavy rainfall that has left cities water-logged. Heavy rainfall, along with a high tide, brought Mumbai to its knees and residents have complained of water-logging and traffic snarls for the last three days.

Such is the situation that on Monday, July 9, a woman was crushed under a speeding bus after the bike she was on hit a pothole.

On impact, she was thrown off the two-wheeler and came under the rear wheel of the bus and died on the spot.

Heavy rains have lashed the north Indian state of Uttarakhand as seven deaths have been reported just from the state capital of Dehradun. 

The rains are likely to stay until Saturday, July 14. 

Due to the bad weather, many airline operators have said that there have been delays in arrivals and departures and have asked flyers to check their flight status. 

In light of heavy rains and traffic issues, Air Vistara has also said that the airline would waive rescheduling fees. 

Traffic snarls were reported from several parts of the city especially on the Western Express Highway (WEH), Eastern Express Highway (EEH) and Eastern Freeway. 

The dabbawalas of the city also suspended work, as it had become impossible for them to commute in water-logged streets.

"We did not collect the tiffins today, because of the waterlogging across the city. Our people find hard to wade through their cycle in knee-deep water," Hindustan Times quoted Mumbai Dabbawalas Association's spokesperson Subhash Talekar as saying.

Several trains were cancelled or delayed on Tuesday, as railway tracks remained submerged in water. Trains between the Churchgate station and Vasai were also delayed.

However, the services have now been restored and hundreds of commuters were seen at railway stations. 

"We decided to start local train services with a cautionary note. At 6.45 am, we started services between Churchgate (in south Mumbai) and Bhayander (Thane district) stations with a restricted speed of 10kmph," the Economic Times quoted WR chief spokesperson Ravinder Bhakar as saying.

"Services between Virar and Dahanu Road (in adjoining Palghar district) have also commenced."

The State Disaster Management Authority has been put on alert for any kind of emergencies such as water-logging, road disasters and landslides. 

"What we are experiencing now is the active phase of the southwest monsoon which is predicted to continue for a few days," Indian Express quoted Met Department director Santhosh as saying. 

Fishermen in Kerala have been warned against venturing out into the sea due to the rough weather. 

Districts of Idukki, Wayanad, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode and Kannur will receive more rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and gusty winds. 

Sea conditions are predicted to be rough to very rough over southwest, central and north Arabian sea.

The Indian Meteorological Department has warned Kerala of heavy rains until July 17. The state has already been receiving good rains, which have reportedly even caused landslides in Wayanad, which is a hill station.  

Vythiri in Wayanad and Piravom in Ernakulam received 17 cm and 15 cm of rainfall on Tuesday and the Met department also has a severe warning for Wednesday, July 11.

In the 10 days of July, Mumbai has received 864.5 mm of rainfall, which is much more than the usual amount that the city receives. 

While the intensity of the rainfall is said to have decreased, it is likely to increase around July 14 due to a low-pressure area forming over south Gujarat.