Overview

• More than 250 millimetres of rain fell in less than a day, swamping neighbourhoods, disrupting trains, and leaving streets under knee-deep water.
• At least 10 people died, most from electrocution, underscoring hazards from an ageing power network during flooding.
• Waterlogged Durga Puja pandals put festivities at risk and threatened the seasonal earnings of artisans, electricians, decorators, and small traders.
• Analysts blame paved wetlands, clogged canals, and unplanned construction for stripping cities of the capacity to absorb intense cloudbursts.
• Policy discussion broadened as Mumbai officials cited pumps for faster drainage, while reporting revisited China’s expanded sponge-city programme and studies indicating nature-based methods can be cheaper and more effective than purely engineered fixes.