At least five people were killed as heavy monsoon rain deluged India's financial capital Mumbai, causing transport chaos and forcing schools and many offices to close on Wednesday.

The coastal city of more than 20 million people is the latest to be hit by floods that have ravaged South Asia this monsoon season, affecting millions of people across India, Nepal and Bangladesh and killing over 1,200.

Authorities in Mumbai said at least five people had died since the intense rainfall began on Tuesday, making roads impassable and briefly shutting the suburban rail network on which millions of commuters depend.

“Five people have died in the Mumbai floods. Four of them including two children died due to wall collapse in the slums and another person died due to electric shock,” Tanaji Kamble, a local government official, told AFP.

Kamble said the rains had eased by Wednesday. “We are monitoring the safety situation across the city and things are returning to normal.” Cars were submerged and commuters waded through waist-deep water on Tuesday evening.

“I could not find any mode of transport and spent my night on the streets instead of trying to reach home,” said 62-year-old Gangadin Gupta.

He said many people had been left stranded for much of the night until the rail network reopened early Wednesday.

Residents of Dharavi, one of Asia's biggest slums and home to more than a million people, said much of the low-lying area was under water.

“Most of the shanties and houses in Dharavi were submerged in water and we lost all our valuables,” said Selvam Sathya, 45.

“All of us took refuge on the first floor of different buildings and the water only started receding this morning [...] I lost all my belongings in the flooding.” The transport chaos forced the city's famed dabbawallahs, who take hundreds of thousands of hot lunches from commuters' homes to offices every day, to cancel their delivery.

Many of the more than 5,000 dabbawallahs were left stranded in the city overnight, a spokesman for the Mumbai Dabbawallha Association told the Press Trust of India.

The flooding brought back memories of 2005 when around 950 millimetres (37 inches) of rain fell on Mumbai in just 24 hours, killing more than 1,000 people.

Electricity, water supply, communications networks and public transport were totally shut down during the 2005 catastrophe, which was blamed on unplanned development and poor drainage in the western city.

India, Nepal and Bangladesh all suffer frequent flooding during the monsoon rains which begin in June and last till September or October.

But the Red Cross has termed this year's floods the worst for decades in some parts of the region. It says entire communities have been cut off and many are short of food and clean water.

The east Indian state of Bihar has been particularly hard hit, with over 500 people killed this monsoon season.

Around 1.7 million people were reportedly affected by the floods, which are now receding. </s> At least 774 have been killed during India's monsoon season due to heavy rain and floods, according to state officials.

Some 245 people have been injured and seven states have been affected, including Maharashtra, Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Nagaland, and Gujarat, said a National Emergency Response Centre (NERC) statement late Sunday.

The center said some 22 people remain missing in Kerala, while five others are missing in West Bengal. </s> Death toll from Mumbai floods jumps to 14, rain eases up (VIDEO)

MUMBAI, Aug 31 — Two toddlers were among 14 people killed in Mumbai after floods caused by heavy monsoon rains destroyed homes and disrupted traffic in India's financial capital, police said, but lighter-than-feared rain on Wednesday helped relief efforts.

More than 1,200 people have died across India, Bangladesh and Nepal in the worst flooding to strike South Asia in years. Several villages in the east Indian state of Bihar are still inundated, with people living in makeshift shelters for days amid widespread heavy damage to farmland.

Tuesday's deluge in Mumbai — nearly a month's average rainfall in a single day — had halted train services and led to flight cancellations.

More heavy rains had been forecast for yesterday, forcing the government to order schools and colleges shut, but in many areas the downpours were lighter.

"The city and suburbs received a few showers in the last few hours but rainfall wasn't heavy like yesterday," said KS Hosalikar, a senior India Metrological Department official.

"However in the next few hours Mumbai and adjourning areas are likely to get fairly widespread rainfall, which will be heavy in few pockets."

Officials said train and air services were operating normally late yesterday in the city, which is home to India's two biggest stock exchanges and several major companies.

People look at a flooded street during heavy rains in Parel neighbourhood of Mumbai August 29, 2017 in this still image obtained from a CCTV camera. — Reuters pic Police said a 45-year-old woman and a 1-1/2-year-old child, members of the same family, died after their home in the northeastern suburb of Vikhroli crumbled on Tuesday, while a 2-year-old girl died in a wall collapse.

In the neighbouring city of Thane, three people died after being swept away by floods, police added. Some died by falling into open manholes in flooded streets in various suburbs.

Mumbai Police spokeswoman Rashmi Karandikar said seven other people were missing in Mumbai.

In neighbouring suburbs six people were missing, said a police official, who declined to be named.

The deluge revived memories of 2005 floods that killed more than 500 people, the majority of them in shantytown slums where more than half of the city's 20 million people live.

Unabated construction on floodplains and coastal areas, as well as stormwater drains and waterways clogged by plastic garbage have made the city increasingly vulnerable to storms.

On Tuesday several firms made arrangements to provide food and rest areas for employees stuck in offices, while officials of temples and religious bodies offered help to those stranded on streets.

"Together, we can overcome any ordeal," the Mumbai Police tweeted. "Thank you all for showing what humanity is in the face of adversity!" — Reuters </s> At least 37 people have been killed in the past two days as monsoon rains triggered house collapses and flooded wide areas of land in northern India.

Weather officials have predicted more rain in the next 48 hours in India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh.

The deaths occurred after rains started on Thursday night, said government spokesman Awanish Awasthi. </s> Mumbai: Two toddlers were among at least six people who died after floods caused by heavy seasonal monsoon rains destroyed homes and disrupted traffic in India’s financial capital, police said on Wednesday.

Train services resumed slowly and dozens of commuters began walking to work, Mumbai, a city of 20 million people is home to India’s two biggest stock exchanges and the headquarters of several major companies.

Some low-lying areas remained under water, causing vehicle pile-ups, after the city received nearly a month's equivalent of rainfall in a single day. Authorities ordered schools and colleges to shut following forecasts of more rain.

There are several stranded cars and two-wheelers on the roads that we are clearing,” said traffic police official Amitesh Kumar.

“We are not expecting any major traffic jams as the machinery is geared up and the rain forecast is also not as bad.”

Police said a 45-year-old woman and a 1-1/2-year-old child, members of the same family, died after their home in the northeastern suburb of Vikhroli crumbled late on Tuesday, while a 2-year-old girl died in a wall collapse.

In the neighbouring city of Thane, three people died after being swept away by floods, police added.

Several firms made arrangements to provide food and rest areas for employees stuck in offices, while officials of temples and religious bodies offered help to those stranded on streets.

Flights faced delays of up to 15 minutes, a spokeswoman for the Mumbai airport said, following several cancellations late on Tuesday.

The deluge revived memories of 2005 floods that killed more than 500 people, the majority of them in shantytown slums where more than half the city’s population lives.

Unabated construction on floodplains and coastal areas, as well as stormwater drains and waterways clogged by plastic garbage have made the city increasingly vulnerable to storms.

In a message on Twitter, Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered crisis-mitigation assistance to the government of Maharashtra.

More than 1,200 people have died across India, Bangladesh and Nepal in the worst floods to strike South Asia in years.

Click here for LIVE updates on the Mumbai rains </s> At least 37 people have been killed in the past two days as monsoon rains triggered house collapses and flooded wide areas of land in northern India.

At least 37 people have been killed in the past two days as monsoon rains triggered house collapses and flooded wide areas of land in northern India.

At least 37 killed as homes collapse during heavy monsoon rains in India

Weather officials have predicted more rain in the next 48 hours in India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh.

The deaths occurred after rains started on Thursday night, said government spokesman Awanish Awasthi.

Most of the victims died on Friday in Agra, the northern Indian city where the white marble Taj Mahal is located, including four members of a family who died in a house collapse.

Rains also damaged an outer boundary wall of the 16th-century Fatehpur Sikri fort.

Authorities closed schools in the area as the weather department issued an alert ahead of further rain. </s> At least 37 people have been killed this week as monsoon rains triggered house collapses and flooded wide swathes of land in northern India.

Weather officials have predicted more rains in the next 48 hours in India's most populous state of Uttar Pradesh.

Government spokesman Awanish Awasthi said Saturday that the deaths occurred since rains started on Thursday night.

Most of the victims died on Friday in Agra, the northern Indian city where the white marble Taj Mahal is located, including four members of a family who perished in a house collapse. </s> Death toll rises to 93 in floods, mudslides in south India

NEW DELHI (AP) — At least 93 people have been killed and more than 400,000 displaced in floods and mudslides following days of torrential rains in southern India.

The worst-hit has been the state of Kerala where the death toll rose to 57 by late Saturday, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan tweeted.

That was an increase from 42 deaths reported since Aug. 8. More than 165,000 people left their homes for relief camps.

The Press Trust of India news agency reported another 31 people have been killed in rain-related accidents in neighboring Karnataka.

At least five others were reported dead in Tamil Nadu state.

Kerala suffered catastrophic floods a year ago when heavy downpours killed 223 people and drove hundreds of thousands from their homes.

South Asia has continued to face rain-related disasters during the monsoon season, with 160 people killed last month in northeastern India, Nepal and Bangladesh. </s> Monsoon rains kill 58 in India, as buildings collapse and streets flood

Updated

At least 58 people have died in monsoon rains which have caused houses to collapse and flooded wide areas of land in northern India.

Weather officials predicted more rains in the next 48 hours in India's most populous state of Uttar Pradesh.

The deaths have been occurring since Thursday night, government spokesman Awanish Awasthi said.

Most of the victims died on Friday in Agra, the northern city where the white marble Taj Mahal is located,.

The dead included four members of a family whose house collapsed, he said.

Rains also damaged an outer boundary wall of a 16th century fortress west of Agra.

However, there was no damage to the main monument, said another official, PK Singh.

Mr Singh said schools were being closed.

The monsoon season usually lasts until October.

In 2016, floods caused by the monsoon rains killed more than 300 and affected 6 million people.

AP/ABC

Topics: floods, disasters-and-accidents, india, asia

First posted
At least 14 people are killed in the Indian city of Mumbai as nearly a month's average rainfall fell yesterday during the worst monsoon in years. More than 1,200 people have been killed across India, Nepal and Bangladesh.