Monsoon deluge hits Western India: Severe waterlogging in Gujarat's Jamnagar, orange alert issued for Maharashtra
Ahmedabad/Mumbai, July 4
A relentless spell of monsoon rainfall has severely disrupted normal life across western India, triggering intense waterlogging, stranding commuters, and leading to fatalities in parts of Maharashtra and Gujarat.
In Gujarat's Jamnagar district, the Dhrol area bore the brunt of the onslaught, with incessant downpours inundating multiple arterial roads. The sudden flooding left numerous vehicles, including school buses full of children, stranded on waterlogged streets, forcing residents to wade through waist-deep waters to commute.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Rajkot witnessed heavy rainfall on July 3, while thunderstorms accompanied heavy rain across parts of the region on July 4. Similar weather conditions are likely to continue on July 5.
The IMD said the southwest monsoon has further advanced into additional parts of the north Arabian Sea, Gujarat, the remaining parts of Madhya Pradesh, and parts of Rajasthan and Haryana.
The weather department also reported very heavy rainfall at isolated places in the districts of Valsad and Daman in south Gujarat, and in Junagadh, Amreli, Gir Somnath, Jamnagar and Porbandar in the Saurashtra region.
Meanwhile, the water level at the Gira Waterfalls in Waghai rose following continuous rainfall in the region.
The situation is equally critical in neighbouring Maharashtra, where days of uninterrupted rainfall caused the Radhanagari Dam on the Bhogawati River in Kolhapur district to breach its capacity and overflow.
Continuous rainfall over the past few days caused the Radhanagari Dam on the Bhogawati River in Kolhapur district to overflow.
The IMD has also issued an orange nowcast warning for Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, Palghar, Nashik and the ghat areas of Pune, forecasting moderate to intense spells of rain at isolated places.
According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Mumbai recorded an average rainfall of 73 mm between 8 am and 9 pm on Friday, while the eastern suburbs received 61 mm and the western suburbs recorded 58 mm.
Meanwhile, the relentless deluge across Maharashtra turned fatal in the suburbs, triggering fierce political debates over municipal accountability and pre-monsoon negligence. In the suburbs, the situation turned tragic in multiple incidents linked to the extreme weather.
Several parts of Mumbai, including Dadra East and Sion Gandhi Market, faced severe waterlogging, further worsening commuter hardship and disrupting daily life.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Gira Waterfalls must be a sight to see right now! 🌊 But on a serious note, glad the water level at Radhanagari Dam is being managed. Kolhapur folks must be on edge. Hope the orange alert areas in Mumbai and Thane are prepared - we can't afford another 2005-like disaster in the suburbs.
I live in Dadra East and our society was completely cut off for 4 hours yesterday. Local politicians are busy fighting over who's to blame, but where's the accountability? BMC should be held responsible - they had months to clean drains and prepare for monsoon. So sorry for the families who lost their loved ones in the suburbs. 😢
The southwest monsoon advancing into Rajasthan and Haryana is actually a silver lining for farmers there. We need to look at the bigger picture - while cities drown, rural India prays for every drop. But yes, urban infrastructure in Gujarat and Maharashtra desperately needs a permanent, climate-resilient solution. ⛈️
I moved to Mumbai from Canada last year for work. This monsoon chaos is something I never imagined. But the resilience of people here is incredible - auto drivers helping stranded families, locals making way for school buses in knee-deep water. The systems may fail but the spirit doesn't. Hope authorities act fast this time.
As a resident of Sion, I must say BMC's response this year has been slightly better than previous years - they had pumps deployed early. But 73mm of rain in a few hours is no joke. The real issue is climate change making monsoon unpredictable. We need to
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