India’s capital was met with incessant rains since the end of June. On June 2nd, it faced its second highest single-day rainfall in July in 45 years. Authorities declared a public holiday on Tuesday to prioritize the safety of the people. However, the rains have since caused the deaths of 30 individuals, 22 of which were caused by sections of walls coming down a slope in Malad (East), which swept away numerous shanties. Among the 30 were ten children, with over 100 more injured.
Experts fault the rapid construction and bad urban planning for the chaos that has erupted in the city. A significant portion of the victims were labourers working at a construction site in the suburban area of Malad. The several days of rainfall caused the wall to weaken, authorities stated.
The floods that were a result of the heavy rainfall have also led to several rail routes to be suspended until further advice. Along with this, aviation authorities have also shut down the main runway at Mumbai’s international airport following a plane that skidding off the runway during its landing. No passengers were harmed in that incident. So far, more than 50 flights have been diverted, with at least another 50 cancelled.
The cities low-lying areas have turned into flood zones, with residents being forced to stay indoors
