Floods swamp Mumbai after month’s worth of rain falls in a single day
Commuter trains shut down, buses were half-submerged under water and even the deluged airport had to divert flights to other cities
Two toddlers were among at least six people who died after floods caused by heavy seasonal monsoon rains destroyed homes and disrupted traffic in India’s financial capital, police said on Wednesday.
Some people were forced to abandon their submerged cars to walk home through flooded streets in Mumbai, a city of 20 million people after it received nearly a month’s equivalent of rainfall in a single day.
Hundreds of others were stranded at railway stations, waiting for rescue workers to help them go back home as authorities ordered schools and colleges to shut following forecasts of more rain.
Navy helicopters have been kept on standby with flood rescue teams and divers also ready for deployment.
“I had to stay the night at my office since train services were cancelled. My son also could not get home because of the heavy flooding,” Vijaya Das, who works for the Reserve Bank of India, said.
Police said a 45-year-old woman and a 1-1/2-year-old child, members of the same family, died after their home in the northeastern suburb of Vikhroli crumbled late on Tuesday, while a 2-year-old girl died in a wall collapse.