Heavy monsoon rains in western India have caused at least three walls to collapse on to huts and city shanties, killing at least 31 people and injuring dozens of others, officials said.
At least 21 people were killed and more than 60 injured when a 35ft wall demarcating an urban forest collapsed during the night in Mumbai, police said.
Ten deaths were caused by two wall collapses elsewhere in Maharashtra state.
Six migrant construction workers were killed and five injured when a wall collapsed on their tin-roofed huts in Pune, a police spokesman said.
In Thane district, a school wall collapsed and fell on to huts, killing three people and injuring one, said Lakshman Pawar, a local civic official.
A 45-year-old watchman also died when a wall collapsed on him late on Monday, police said.
The monsoon season in India brings heavy rain from June to September that causes flooding and other damage. Building collapses are common as the rain weakens the foundations of poorly built structures.
On Saturday, another wall collapse in Pune killed 16 people living in a cluster of tin-roofed huts housing migrant workers and their families.
Monday’s rain also flooded roads in Mumbai and covered train tracks. According to Skymet, a private weather forecasting agency, the rainfall was the city’s heaviest in a decade and the second highest in 44 years.
Heavy to extremely heavy #rains will be seen over #Vidarbha, parts of #Marathwada, Southwest #MadhyaPradesh and adjoining #Gujarat.https://t.co/ARrCUAzVRK
— SkymetWeather (@SkymetWeather) July 2, 2019
Rain subsided by midday on Tuesday but weather officials predicted more heavy downpours in the next three days.
India’s Central Railway said in a tweet that “nature’s fury” made operating trains a “safety hazard” in some areas. Train services were running only partially on Tuesday after thousands of passengers were stranded overnight. Millions of passengers commute daily on the railways in Mumbai.
GM CR & WR along with other senior officials is personally monitoring situation from Central Control Room pic.twitter.com/9zNyJiizyY
— Central Railway (@Central_Railway) July 1, 2019
The city has witnessed incessant rainfall over the past few days and floodwater has entered homes. A public holiday was declared for Tuesday and the Maharashtra government said only emergency services would be functional.
Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis tweeted: “People are advised to stay indoors unless there is any emergency.”
TV channels showed videos of submerged cars and water flowing through ground floors of some residential buildings.
At least 50 domestic and international flights were diverted and 50 other flights were cancelled.
