Mumbai records wettest July in 30 years as heavy rains continue to lash city

India's financial capital has had downpours over the past month

Motorists drive through a waterlogged road after heavy monsoon rainfall in Mumbai earlier this month. AFP

India’s financial capital Mumbai has recorded its wettest July in three decades, with heavy to very heavy rainfall expected on Friday.

Primary schools have been shut and residents advised to stay at home as the rains are expected to disrupt traffic and local train and bus services in the city.

The total rain received this month passed the 1,500mm mark on Thursday, surpassing the record set in 1991, according to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.

The heavy rainfall has caused four of the seven lakes supplying water to the city to overflow after they reached their maximum capacity on Thursday, the BMC said.

The India Meteorological Department has also predicted heavy rainfall in Mumbai’s adjoining districts, Thane and Palghar.

A man, 32, was swept away in a swollen drain near a creek in Kalwa town while another, aged 19, was feared drowned in a dam in Ovla area of Thane on Wednesday.

Maharashtra state, of which Mumbai is the capital, has received incessant rain over the past month, causing flooding and landslides in several districts.

More than 500 health teams have been stationed in the flood-hit areas of Yavatmal, Akola, Raigad, Palghar, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg and Jalgaon, to prevent waterborne diseases and monitor treatment plants.

About a dozen National Disaster Response Force teams are on standby in several cities.