Four dead as torrential monsoon rains lash Mumbai

Heavy downpours bring disruption to a number of cities throughout India.

Kolkata rain
Indian commuters look for a bus during heavy rain in Kolkata [Piyal Adhikary/EPA-EFE]

At least four people in Mumbai have been killed as torrential monsoon rains lash the coastal Indian city. 

Two people died and five were injured on Sunday by a falling tree and a 15-year-old was killed after falling into an open pit in Mumbai’s Malad suburb, according to NDTV.

A child was also killed when a wall of their home collapsed at around 2am local time on Monday.

The downpours brought down another wall in south Mumbai’s Wadala area. A large section of a compound wall crushed 15 vehicles, but no casualties were reported.

These incidents were triggered by unrelenting wet weather. In the 24 hours until 06:00 GMT on Monday, Mumbai reported a staggering 241mm of rain. This is just short of half the amount expected in the entire month of June.

Mumbai isn’t the only city to have been hit by torrential rains in the last few days.

The wet weather in Kolkata brought traffic to a grinding halt and forced commuters to wade through flooded streets on their way to work.

At least one student has tested positive for dengue fever since the rain began to fall. The concern is that if a dengue outbreak starts at the onset of monsoon, the disease could spread very quickly.

In the northwest state of Gujarat, the city of Ahmedabad has also been swamped by water. The monsoon rains started on Saturday, quickly inundating streets and causing flooding.

More intense rain is expected in the next few days, with the heaviest of the downpours expected in the west, including in Mumbai.

Source: Al Jazeera