Mumbai Schools and Colleges Closed as IMD Issues Orange Alert for Heavy Rain

Because of the heavy monsoon that has been hammering the west coast, the authorities have had to put student safety first. All government, private and civic-run schools and colleges across Mumbai have been declared closed today by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) following incessant and record-breaking rainfall in the past 48 hours.

The blanket shutdown has been extended to the worst-hit neighbouring districts of Thane, Palghar, Navi Mumbai and Raigad to keep millions of students and teachers off the flooded streets.

Risk Level Lower, But Still High

The IMD has downgraded its weather warning from a severe Red Alert to an Orange Alert for the day, which has led to the closure. But weather experts stress that “downgraded” does not mean safe; the city is still preparing for heavy to very heavy localised downpours with harsh, gusty winds that can reach 60-70 km/h.

A series of serious infrastructure damages and tragic incidents throughout the metropolitan area resulted in a consecutive-day extension of the school holiday:

Infrastructure & Property Hazards: The city’s emergency helpline got over 400 individual reports of tree and branch falls and almost 30 reports of house or wall structural failures.

Tragic Death: A 63-year-old local resident in Kurla (West) was killed when a gust of wind uprooted a huge tree and fell directly on a shop.

Workplace Advisory: While government services related to essential services are operational, the Maharashtra State Disaster Management Authority has strongly recommended all private and corporate establishments to implement the work-from-home model for their employees wherever feasible.

Transit and Travel Bottleneck

Getting around the city is still a complete test of patience. Local train services on Central and Western lines are severely affected, running 15-45 minutes late due to waterlogging on tracks.

The difficulties for long-haulers are worsening. Large-scale cancellation and diversion of outbound rail services towards Gujarat is being done due to deep water tracking on the lines between Virar and Palghar. Meanwhile, flights operating from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport are experiencing residual delays and diversions after a complete operational shutdown of the runways due to zero visibility earlier in the storm.

High Tide Alert: Civic officials ask residents to keep away from Marine Drive and other coastal fronts There'll be a big high tide on the coast this afternoon. If the sea swell is at its height and a heavy cloudburst occurs over the city, then the urban drainage systems will get completely backed up, and flooding will occur quickly and dangerously in all low-lying areas.