MUMBAI: The Maximum City came to a literal halt on Tuesday after being hit by heavy rains for two days in a row. The downpour disrupted rail and air traffic in India’s financial capital, prompting authorities to close schools and offices. Over 30 people lost their lives as walls in Malad, Kalyan collapsed, while two people were electrocuted in Thane. Two others lost their lives as they drowned in a subway in Malad when their car stalled in the floodwaters.
Several parts of the city received around 400 mm of rains over 24 hours flooding streets and railway tracks, forcing the suspension of some suburban train services, which millions of commuters ride to work each day. The main runway at Mumbai airport, India’s second-biggest, was closed from midnight after a SpiceJet flight overshot the runway while landing. The normalisation of operations at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai may take up to two days for the flight operations to normalise, officials said.
MIAL sources said that a 150 m ramp is being prepared to enable to push the aircraft out of the grassy area. “Due to runway excursion by the arriving aircraft, main runway is not available and secondary runway was put to use,” the CSIA said and urged passengers to check with airlines before leaving for airport.
“A total of 203 flights were cancelled at the Mumbai airport due to inclement weather and non-availability of the main runway for operations,” an airport official said.
The airport spokesperson said that currently the second airport is being used and the team is making all efforts to bring the main runway back to operations in 48 hours. Private weather agency Skymet said Mumbai is at “serious risk of flooding” between July 3 and 5.
As many as 34 people have lost their lives in Maharashtra as heavy rains lash the state in the last 24 hours