Mumbai, Bengaluru hit by monsoon rains as alerts warn of more rain

Heavy monsoon downpours on Monday disrupted life across western and southern India, with Mumbai bearing the brunt of the storm during the morning rush, Bengaluru under weather alerts and northeastern states warned to brace for more rain, the India Meteorological Department said. The weather office issued shortterm red and orange warnings for parts of Maharashtra as intense showers, gusty winds and thunderstorms flooded lowlying areas and slowed trains and road traffic.

In Mumbai, the downpour began around midnight and continued into Monday morning, leading to widespread waterlogging in South and Central wards and suburbs. IMD data showed the Colaba observatory recorded up to 134.4 mm of rain in a 24hour period, while earlier 12hour readings ranged from 36.5 mm at Mahalaxmi to 88.2 mm at Colaba. Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation nowcasts and the IMD initially issued a red alert for the metropolitan region for a brief period and later downgraded most areas to orange as rain intensity eased, officials said.

The deluge flooded spots including Kings Circle, Lalbaug, Worli, Dadar, Parel and Kurla, and waterfilled potholes compounded traffic jams during peak hours. Mumbai Traffic...