Monsoon rains maroon India’s financial capital (VIDEO) — ApsnyNews India

Heavy monsoon rains have marooned India’s financial capital Mumbai, leaving six dead over the weekend. Flooding and landslides have cut off regular access to the city.

The deaths were reported in the eastern suburb of Mankhurd, where a four-story residential building collapsed. The victims included a woman and five children, according to civic authorities.

Between 8:30 AM local time on July 4 and 8:30 AM the following day, weather stations in Mumbai recorded more than 200 millimeters of rainfall, with more heavy rain and winds forecast.

Landslides on the expressway connecting Mumbai with the IT and manufacturing hub of Pune disrupted traffic; the two cities are the largest in Maharashtra state on the country’s west coast.

Airline services were disrupted and long-distance train services connecting ⁠Mumbai and Pune were cancelled.

The chief minister of Maharashtra warned of a possible downpour in the city of Nashik on Tuesday. A high alert has been sounded as heavy rains are expected to continue across the state until July 8, although the rain in Mumbai has abated.

The rain started late last month, after a late and weak onset of monsoon in mid-June, uprooting trees on Mumbai’s roads and killing ⁠at least three people, according to media reports.

India was hit by the worst flooding in its modern history in 2005, when it saw the most rain recorded in over a century, taking the lives of an estimated 1,000 people.

India’s Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast more heavy rainfall in many states in the coming days.

On June 30, the IMD projected that the South Asian nation is likely to see below-average monsoon rainfall in July after logging its fifth-driest June since the country started maintaining records in 1901.

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