Mumbai: Heavy monsoon showers continued to batter Mumbai on Wednesday, triggering waterlogging in several areas, traffic disruptions and the overflowing of Powai Lake, as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) placed the city under an Orange Alert and warned of more intense rainfall over the coming days.

Persistent rainfall across Mumbai and neighbouring districts disrupted daily life on Wednesday, with several low-lying areas reporting waterlogging, traffic congestion and tree fall incidents.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an Orange Alert for Mumbai through Saturday, forecasting heavy to very heavy rainfall, with the possibility of extremely heavy rain at isolated places.

Waterlogging and traffic snarls across the city

Several parts of Mumbai received more than 100 mm of rainfall, leading to flooding in vulnerable locations, including the Andheri subway and parts of Worli.

A major tree fell on Swami Vivekananda Road in Andheri, disrupting traffic until civic workers and fire personnel cleared the obstruction. Heavy rain also caused long traffic jams on the Western Express Highway near Santacruz East during peak commuting hours.

Powai Lake begins overflowing

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said Powai Lake began overflowing at around 5.30 am on Wednesday following continuous rainfall.

The lake, which has a storage capacity of 545 crore litres, primarily supplies water for industrial use.

Rain alerts across Maharashtra

While Mumbai remains under an Orange Alert until Saturday, the IMD has issued stronger warnings for several neighbouring districts.

  • Red Alert: Ratnagiri (Wednesday), Palghar (Thursday), Raigad (Thursday and Friday), Thane (Saturday)
  • Orange Alert: Mumbai (Wednesday to Saturday), Thane (Wednesday to Friday)

The weather department has advised residents to avoid unnecessary travel during periods of intense rainfall and remain alert for possible lightning, flooding and traffic disruptions.

Water reservoirs remain low

Despite the heavy showers, Mumbai's seven reservoirs together were only 7.18% full on Wednesday morning, significantly lower than the 41.17% recorded on the same date last year, highlighting the uneven progress of this year's monsoon.

The southwest monsoon has strengthened over Maharashtra this week, bringing widespread rainfall across the Konkan region. Weather officials expect the active monsoon phase to continue over the next several days, with heavy rainfall likely to affect transport, low-lying areas and civic services across Mumbai and adjoining districts.