The Indian Army’s Sudarshan Chakra Corps were pressed into service in Maharashtra’s Nanded district on Tuesday as rain ravaged Maharashtra. At the time of going to the press, the death toll due to rain in the State stood at 21, even as more than 1,500 people were shifted to safer places and at least 50 villages were reported marooned in Vidarbha region.
While 8oo villages in Marathwada region have been affected by the floods, at least 50 villages in Vidarbha region became inaccessible, following the unabated rains pounding the various parts of the State.
After reviewing the flood situation at the weekly State Cabinet meeting in Mumbai, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “In Nanded alone eight deaths have been reported. In the rains witnessed during the last three-four days standing crops spread over 12 to 14 lakh acres have been damaged. We have asked the district Collectors to conduct panchanamas of the damaged crops so that the State Government can extend relief to the affected farmers”.
The CM said that the next 48 hours would be crucial for Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts where a red alert has been sounded since Monday.
The State Government declared a holiday for schools and colleges for the second consecutive day on Tuesday.
In a consolidated statement put out in the evening, the Maharashtra Government said that the rain-flood toll since August 15 had risen to 21. Following a request from the Maharashtra Government, the Indian Army’s Sudarshan Chakra Corps launched a relief operation in the flood-affected Nanded district.
Rescue columns of Sudarshan Chakra Corps, including Engineering Task Force and Medical Teams, are operating in close coordination with State Disaster
“Out of the five persons earlier reported missing, bodies of four have been recovered, while one individual is still untraced,” officials of the Indian Army and Nanded district officials confirmed on Tuesday.
“Indian Army columns are actively engaged in relocating families to safer areas. To extend immediate humanitarian assistance, a medical camp has been established and food distribution points have been set up to support the affected residents,” a senior state Governmentofficial said
“Army teams are relocating families to safer areas. Medical camp and food distribution point have been organised. First aid has been provided to 178 people, and food has been served to over 450 residents,” a Southern Command spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, with no let-up in the heavy rains in the country’s commercial capital, residents of Mumbai were brought to the knees for the second consecutive day. Over the past three days, several parts of Mumbai reported more than 450 mm leading to massive disruption in traffic, train services and flight operations.
The suburban services between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and Thane on the Central Railway’s mainline and also the train operations between CSMT and Mankhurd remained suspended through the day owing to heavy water logging on the tracks.
Mumbai’s Monorail services bore the brunt of the heavy rains. A monorail train got stuck on the line near Mysore Colony station due to a power supply issue, prompting the rescue of passengers by towing it to the station with the help of another monorail.
Commuters were stranded as the monorail operations were closed between Chembur and Bhakti Park at 6.15 pm. Taking cognisance of the situation, the Mumbai Fire Brigade rushed its personnel to help the stranded commuters.
“One Monorail train near Mysore Colony station has experienced a minor power supply issue. Our operations and maintenance teams are already on-site and working to resolve it quickly,” a Maha Mumbai Metro Operation Corporation Limited (MMMOCL) spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, as many as eight flights were diverted and the operations of more than 150 flights were delayed, heavy rains continued to batter Mumbai and neighbouring areas for the third consecutive day.
The runways and various areas of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport remained under thick sheets of water.
Eight flights were diverted between 9 am and 9.50 am, while on an average, departures and arrivals of the flights delayed by about 45 minutes.
While six flights of IndiGo airlines and one each of SpiceJet and Air India were diverted to Surat, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
An advisory put out on Tuesday morning by IndiGo on Tuesday alerted the passengers about the possible delays of the flights and also the water-logged routes to the airport. “With Mumbai drenched in heavy showers, several routes to the airport are witnessing waterlogging and sluggish traffic. This has, in turn, led to operational challenges, with delays in both departures and arrivals and we truly regret the inconvenience this may cause. If you’re scheduled to travel, we recommend leaving a little earlier and keeping an eye on your flight status via our app or website,” IndiGo posted a message on “X”.
Between 8.30am and 2.30pm on Tuesday, Mumbai recorded 151.4mm rainfall at Santacruz, 141.5mm at Vikhroli, 110.5mm at Juhu, 92mm at Byculla, 89mm at Bandra, and 29mm at Colaba.
After a review of the rain-flood situation with the disaster management department, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the next 48 hours would be crucial for Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts where a red alert has been sounded since Monday.
“The India Meteorological Department has issued a Red Alert warning (extremely heavy rainfall), for Mumbai City and Suburbs, Tuesday, 19th August 2025. In view of the same, the District Disaster Management Authority (BMC), hereby declares a holiday for all government, private and municipal schools and colleges in Mumbai (City and Suburbs),” the BMC said.