Heavy Rain in Thane Kills Boy and Forces Evacuation of 250 Badlapur Residents
Heavy monsoon rains lashing Thane district on Monday left a 13-year-old boy dead, forced the evacuation of 250 residents, and prompted authorities to shut down schools and colleges on Tuesday. Thane recorded 240 mm of rainfall in 24 hours, causing local rivers to swell past danger marks and triggering tree-fall incidents in neighbourhoods like Louiswadi and Vrindavan.
In Bhiwandi, 13-year-old Mohammed Abuzar was washed away in a swollen drain late Monday evening. Meanwhile, rising water levels in local rivers prompted emergency evacuations. The Ulhas river rose above its danger level at Badlapur and Ambernath, while the Kalu river crossed its warning level at Titwala.
Emergency teams evacuated approximately 250 residents living along the Ulhas riverbank in Badlapur. Among those rescued and moved to safety were 45 residents of a local old-age home.
The heavy downpour and strong winds also led to multiple tree-fall incidents across the region, blocking roads in Thane and Kalyan-Dombivli. In Louiswadi, a man was injured when a tree collapsed on him. In Vrindavan, a fireman sustained a leg injury during an operation to clear a fallen tree.
Following these disruptions, the India Meteorological Department issued an orange alert for Thane for Tuesday. In response, local authorities declared a holiday for all schools and colleges. Mumbai University also postponed all examinations scheduled for Tuesday, with a revised schedule to be announced later.
The severe weather disrupted transport links used by local commuters. Over 200 train services were hit across the Central and Western Railway networks, including 27 cancellations on the Central Railway. Landslides in the Lonavala-Karjat ghat section and waterlogging near Nalasopara further delayed local suburban train operations.
The state disaster management authority had also declared private offices shut on Monday morning as the region grappled with the severe weather, which has caused ten deaths across the broader region over the last six days.
