Viral video: Children swim outside Mumbai mall as very heavy rains turn roads into rivers

With the heavy downpour lashing the financial capital on Tuesday, leading to waterlogging at various parts of Mumbai, a visual emerged on social media where children were spotted swimming in rainwater collected outside Oberoi Mall in Goregaon.

In the video, the water level rose near the mall’s entrance, and a group of children turned the flooded stretch into a makeshift swimming pool. The video went viral on social media, showing children splashing around as curious onlookers recorded the scene.

The video highlights Mumbai's chronic struggle with flooding during the monsoon.

Rains situation in Mumbai:

The India Meteorological Department on Tuesday extended the red alert for Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Palghar districts till Wednesday morning, predicting heavy rainfall.

North Goa, South Goa, Raigarh, Ratnagiri, Mumbai City, Suburban Mumbai, Palghar Sindhudurg and Thane districts are on flash flood risk till 5:30 PM today, IMD said.

Meanwhile, at least 17 trains have been rescheduled due to incessant rains, waterlogging in Mumbai.

Also, the Central Railway official stated that harbour line services between CSMT and Kurla were suspended from 11:20 am due to track submersion under approximately 12 inches of water, caused by the swelling of the nearby Mithi River.

According to flight tracking portal Flightradar, 155 departing flights from the airport were running late, while 102 inbound services also got delayed.

Among other details, several water reservoirs are overflowing, including Modak Sagar Dam, Tansa Dam, Tulsi Lake and Vihar Lake. The water level of Mithi River has touched the danger mark at Kranti Nagar, Kurla Bridge, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.

What CM Fadnavis said?

"In the last 2 days, Maharashtra has received widespread rainfall. Red Alert and Orange Alert have been issued for several districts. Even for the next three days, until 21st August, half of the districts in Maharashtra have either Red Alert or Orange Alert. We discussed the precautions that need to be taken due to this," ANI quoted Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis as saying.

He added, “There is going to be rainfall in Mumbai for the next 2-3 days. There is going to be a high tide as well. So, people should observe precautions. Our Control Room has sent an alert to the Centres in the districts. We are making every effort to provide relief wherever there is any damage. Efforts to further mitigate disasters that can occur in the days to come are being made.”

With agency inputs.