Pre-monsoon rains lash Mumbai again; flights hit, local trains disrupted

Mumbai: For the second time in two days, heavy pre-monsoon rains, accompanied by thunder and lightning, lashed Mumbai on Monday night, hitting flight operations and disrupting local trains, officials said.

Rains poured over south Mumbai, eastern and western suburbs and in many areas of adjoining Raigad, Thane, Ratnagiri and Palghar districts.

Waterlogging was reported in some parts of the city and suburbs, leading to huge traffic snarls on the two highways and other roads in the city and suburbs.

At Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, at least nine incoming flights of different airlines were diverted to other airports like Ahmedabad on account of congestion at Mumbai and inclement weather conditions.

The delays were expected to continue till 11.30 p.m.

Local train services were slowed down owing to some technical glitches on the harbour line of Central Railway.

Power outages were reported in some parts of Thane besides trees falling in the strong winds lashing adjoining areas like Ambernath amd Thane.

The IMD's Mumbai office has forecast a thunderstorm, accompanied with gusty winds with lightning, over the next few hours in Thane and other areas, and on Tuesday.