Hundreds stranded in Mumbai as heavy rain disrupts railway service

Schools and colleges in Mumbai and neighbouring districts were also closed on Monday following a warning by the weather office.

Hundreds of passengers were stuck in India's financial capital, Mumbai, and nearby towns on Monday after two days of heavy rain flooded rivers and undermined railway tracks, forcing authorities to cancel or divert dozens of long-distance trains.

Rivers in the western state of Maharashtra were flooded after authorities released water from dams made full after many parts on the west coast received more than 200 mm (8 inches) of rain.

Trains were cancelled due to the heavy downpours and because a boulder fell on one line, railway authorities said on Twitter.

Schools and colleges in Mumbai and neighbouring districts were also closed on Monday following a warning by the weather office of heavy rainfall, the Maharashtra chief minister's office tweeted.

Financial markets were open in Mumbai, which is often touted as a potential rival to China's financial powerhouse Shanghai but, like many Indian cities, is hampered by poor infrastructure.

Hundreds of houses and a few Hindu temples on the banks of the Godavari river were flooded in the neighbouring town of Nashik after floodwater was released from a dam.

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Thunderstorm, dust storm alert warning across India: Here's a state-wise forecast

With thunderstorms and dust storms killing hundreds across the country, it has become prudent to keep a track of IMD's warnings. Here's IMD's forecast for the coming four days.

Uttar Pradesh is expected to be hit by another round of thunderstorms over the next two days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) warned on Sunday. The state witnessed over a dozen deaths due to thunderstorms over the weekend.



The weather department has predicted thunderstorms for several states across India, including Bihar, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, in the next few days.
The fresh warning comes days after 17 people were killed and 11 injured in deadly dust storms in Uttar Pradesh.
Dust storms have become a regular phenomenon in the state, leaving over 130 people dead last month. On May 13, 39 people died in various districts, including Bareilly, Barabanki, Bulandshahr and Lakhimpur Khiri.
On May 9, a severe storm left 18 dead and 27 others injured. Five people died in Etawah district, three each in Mathura, Aligarh, and Agra, two in Firozabad and one each in Hathras and Kanpur Dehat.



Here is what the IMD has predicted for different parts of the country:
Dust storm or thunderstorm in 13 UP districts on Monday: The IMD has predicted another round of storms in 13 districts of Uttar Pradesh in the next two days.
According to the meteorological department, the districts that might be hit by thunderstorms or dust storms are Banda, Chitrakoot, Fatehpur, Hardoi, Shahjahanpur, Pilibhit, Bareilly, Rampur, Moradabad, Meerut, Bijnore, Muzaffarnagar, and Saharanpur.
The weather office has also forecast "very likely" rain in certain parts of the state.



Thunderstorms across India on Monday: Apart from Uttar Pradesh, the country's eastern, central and southern regions are also expected to witness thunderstorms on Monday. The regions include Gangetic West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.



Thunderstorms expected to hit North India on Wednesday and Thursday: The IMD has predicted thunderstorms accompanied with gusty winds and lightning over Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh, and Delhi for Wednesday and Thursday.

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