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Mumbai rains leave 2 million Vasai-Virar residents without power, water, telecom
Suburban railway services have also been disrupted; bus services and taxis badly affected. The few taxis and auto rickshaws operating are charging 10 to 15 times more than regular rates
- PUBLISHED: Wed 8 Jul 2026, 6:33 PM
As Mumbai and the surrounding region have been experiencing record rains over the past few days, hundreds of thousands of residents in neighbouring Vasai-Virar are facing a major crisis relating to drinking water, electricity and telecom including mobile services. Floodwaters have crippled the region and there are fears of an outbreak of waterborne diseases in the area, home to nearly two million people.
Seventy per cent of the urban conglomeration has been submerged under rainwater and as homes get flooded, hundreds of thousands of residents are desperately trying to leave the area, heading to their relatives’ homes elsewhere.
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The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company’s main substation at Vasai is submerged and much of its infrastructure is also crippled by the rains. Power supply to the entire region has been affected as the state-owned utility has suspended supplies to prevent electrocution. Residents in high-rise towers have to trudge up 10 to 20 floors to reach their homes.
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Many of the new high-rise towers in the Vasai-Virar region are facing massive problems because of the power and water shortage of the past four days.
Suburban railway services to Mumbai have also been disrupted because of the rains, while bus services and taxis are also badly affected. The few taxis and autorickshaws that operate in the region are fleecing commuters, charging 10 to 15 times more than the regular rates.
About 250 people who were stranded in waterlogged areas have been rescued by the National Disaster Response Force and the fire brigade.
Kalash Patil, leader of Agri Sena, a tribal organisation, told the media that unauthorised buildings have mushroomed in the Vasai-Virar area in recent years, making life miserable for people staying there.
Many residents had to opt for tractors in posh housing colonies to get around the neighbourhood. The railway tracks were flooded, and thousands of people were wading through, hoping to reach their homes. But walking in knee-deep flooded waters is dangerous, as many commuters spotted snakes along the route.
A Western Railway spokesperson told the media that services to Virar have been suspended because water level had risen above the safety threshold for the suburban trains.
The Vasai-Virar region recorded 750mm of rainfall from Saturday to Monday, which flooded the low-lying areas.
The first week of July has been horrendous in Mumbai and the surrounding areas, as almost 1,000mm of rainfall was recorded. This was more than the annual rainfall in Delhi or Pune and almost the same as Bengaluru’s in a year.
Ashwini Bhide, the municipal commissioner of Mumbai, said all the pumping stations in the metropolis have been working intensively, clearing low-lying areas of water that has accumulated over the past few days.
The Colaba observatory in south Mumbai recorded 791mm of rainfall between July 1 and 7, as against a usual average of 768.5mm for July. The Santacruz observatory reported 879mm of rainfall in the first week, as against a July average of 919.9mm.
The monsoon set in two weeks later than usual in Mumbai and the surrounding areas this year, when the country is expected to experience the adverse effects of the El Nino, which sees a delayed and weaker monsoon.
The southwest monsoon usually brings rain over Mumbai by June 10, but this year it was delayed by a fortnight. Mumbai saw less than 15mm of rainfall in June, as against a normal of over 525mm.
