Heavy Rain Alert: Mumbai Schools And Colleges Closed Tomorrow Due To Orange Warning

Mumbai: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for Mumbai, forecasting heavy to very heavy rainfall. Schools and colleges across Mumbai are closed on Monday. The BMC made this decision on Sunday after weather forecasters warned of heavy rain and strong winds. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an Orange Alert. The rain will be intense. The winds will gust hard. Government and private offices stay open, and only schools will be shut down.

The monsoon has been hitting Mumbai hard for days. Power goes out in some areas. The city is dealing with constant disruption.

Why close schools?

The BMC wants to keep kids and teachers off the streets. Heavy rain and wind make travel dangerous. Trees come down without warning and waterlogging makes roads impassable. Schools closing keeps everyone home and safe. The civic body made the right call.

Will everything be closed?

Only schools and colleges will be clsoed. Banks, offices, shops, government and private offices will function as normal. Only students get the day off. In the first week of July, some areas got over 200 millimeters in 24 hours. That's heavy rain by any measure. The ground can't absorb that much water that fast. Waterlogging happens everywhere in Mumbai.

What's good about the rain?

Lakes and reservoirs are full now. Before monsoon came, people worried about water shortages. The rain fixed that problem as water storage is back to normal levels. Mumbai has now enough water for drinking and daily use.

Usually monsoon arrives earlier but this year it came towards the end of June. By early July it picked up speed. Now it's raining heavily across the region. That causing flooding in low areas. Because of this trains also get delayed. Several other problems like traffic jams, tree falls, power outages, and w0aterlogging everywhere occuring. Normal life is disrupted as people can't get around easily. Commutes take twice as long.

How many people died?

The recent Sunday saw two deaths. An 18-year-old, Kumar Hasan Raza Jahangir Alam Syed, was killed when a tree branch fell on him in Aarey Colony. Earlier the same day, a 63-year-old man, Yunus Kundawala, died when a tree collapsed on him in Kurla West. Both deaths were caused by falling trees during the heavy rain. Heavy rain loosens soil. Strong winds push hard on branches. Old trees can't hold up and branches get snapped. Mumbai loses trees regularly during monsoon but it's a seasonal problem.

What should people do?

The best possible way is stay home if you can. Only go out if absolutely necessary and follow weather updates as well. Listen to official alerts and be careful on roads. Watch for fallen trees and power lines. Stay away from flooded areas as the water hides dangers. Authorities are already on alert. Mumbai sits on India's west coast where heavy monsoon rain is expected every year. The city deals with this season every single year. But it never gets easier as the infrastructure gets stressed, drains overflow, and trains get delayed.