Three days of nonstop rain have halted activity in Mumbai and nearby regions, blocking major roads and rail lines that link India’s financial hub to other parts of the country and stranding thousands of travelers.
By Monday morning, the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway, and Mumbai-Konkan route were either shut or heavily restricted, nearly stopping all intercity travel.
The Expressway suffered the most damage. A landslide near Tunnel 2 exit required a detour on the Pune-Mumbai side of the recently opened Missing Link, a 13-kilometre mountain bypass completed two months ago.
About 100 tonnes of debris fell at a spot where officials said no such event had happened before. The bypass reopened to traffic by evening.
Waterlogging slowed movement on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway despite ongoing drainage work. Near Nagothane on the Konkan route, flooding trapped passengers for more than 24 hours.
Landslides on the rail line between Pune and Mumbai stopped train services after debris covered tracks at Thakurwadi and Monkey Hill. Trains from Gujarat were halted, leaving passengers inside coaches for hours.
Over 20 long-distance trains on Western Railway are stuck in Mumbai and south Gujarat, affecting more than 40 services. At least 10 trains were cancelled, eight rescheduled, and others diverted.
Thirteen people died in rain-related incidents in the Mumbai and Pune areas over the past few days, according to state officials.
Two deaths occurred when a house was buried by a landslide in Patan village in Pune district. Another person was swept away on a flooded road in Khed.
A firefighter was hurt clearing a fallen tree, and a billboard plus two walls collapsed in Thane. In Palghar, strong winds damaged tin roofs and uprooted trees at a school. Some areas there received nearly 300 mm of rain in two hours.
Both houses of the state legislature adjourned due to the weather. The Bombay High Court said it would not issue adverse orders against lawyers unable to attend.
The weather department has forecast two more days of heavy rain and issued a red alert for Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, Nashik, and Trimbakeshwar, warning of possible cloudbursts exceeding 300 mm in some spots.
The chief minister cautioned about potential cloudbursts in Nashik on Tuesday and said the government would monitor conditions until at least July 8.
He described the landslide as unprecedented and the rainfall as an extreme event. National and state disaster teams have been deployed to high-risk zones, with control rooms operating around the clock.
Residents were asked to remain indoors, avoid tourist sites, and limit travel. Private offices were advised to allow work from home, and non-essential government offices closed early.
Opposition lawmakers protested outside the state assembly, blaming the administration for inadequate preparedness and weak infrastructure. They demanded action against contractors after a pillar collapse on the Expressway bypass and sought reports on tree safety after 350 trees fell in one day.
