- Two people inside a car were rescued from a flooded underpass in Thane district
- Heavy rains caused waterlogging, landslides, and disrupted transport in several Maharashtra districts
- Thane city recorded over 100mm of rainfall by 4.30 pm, affecting schools and traffic movement
Stuck in the middle of a flooded underpass inside their almost submerged car, two people in Maharashtra's Thane district were rescued by locals who swam to the middle and pushed the car to allow their exit from it.
A video of the rescue from the underpass that connected Thane district's Narivali and Uttarshiv villages showed the car stuck in the rainwater, with around a feet of open space in the front of the vehicle. Two locals are then seen swimming up to the car, after which one local climbed up on the rear of the car and pushed it down to allow it to move to safety. After the car did not move much, the two passengers came out of the windows and swam towards the road.
The incident came on a day Thane, Mumbai, Palghar, Navi Mumbai, Raigad and many other districts in Maharashtra saw heavy rainfall, causing schools and colleges to shut. Roads were waterlogged, trains and flights were impacted and traffic came to a halt. In Thane district, heavy downpours triggered a landslide in a hilly area in Kalyan damaging four houses.
Thane city alone recorded more than 100 mm of rainfall at 4.30 pm, said Yasin Tadvi, chief of the disaster management cell of the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC). Elsewhere in Thane district, rescue teams used boats to transport schoolchildren in Kalwa, where heavy flooding disrupted movement. At Ghodbunder, a boulder crash temporarily blocked traffic, but debris was swiftly cleared by disaster management teams.
The rise in water levels affected traffic on Chena Bridge in Bhayander, while a man was swept away in a 'nullah' at Blue Diamond Square in Navi Mumbai's Sector 28 around noon.
Several parts of Mumbai received more than 100 mm rainfall in 12 hours on Monday, with Vikhroli in the eastern suburbs topping the chart with a 139.5 mm downpour. Many flights were affected due to poor weather conditions, with some executing "go-arounds" and one flight diverted.
Five people went missing and more than 200 villagers were stranded in Nanded district amid incessant rains, prompting authorities to deploy the army for rescue and relief efforts.
In Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar division, 800 villages are affected by heavy rains, he said. Vidarbha has reported crop damage over nearly two lakh hectares. The situation in Mukhed is under control, while Gadchiroli, Akola, Chandur Railway, Mehkar and Washim are stabilising. Heavy rains have been recorded in Ratnagiri, Raigad and Hingoli.
With a red alert in place, schools and colleges in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane and Palghar will remain shut on Tuesday.
