The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) declared a holiday in all schools, colleges, and anganwadis on Monday, August 18, due to continued heavy rainfall in the city and suburbs. Mumbai is reeling under a red alert as heavy rainfall leads to waterlogging and traffic jams.
The holiday has been declared after the India Meteorological Department (IMD) upgraded its orange alert to red on Monday, predicting heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places. Mumbai Guardian Minister Ashish Shelar has instructed the Mumbai Municipal Commissioner to declare a holiday for schools in the afternoon session. The BMC also appealed to citizens not to step out of their homes until necessary.
Alkso Read | Mumbai Rains: IMD Upgrades Orange Alert to Red As Heavy Rainfall Floods City.
BMC in a post on X said, "In view of the continuous rainfall since morning & considering the safety of students, the Municipal Commissioner & Administrator Shri Bhushan Gagrani has declared a holiday today, Monday, 18th August 2025, for all schools & colleges scheduled to function in the second session, i.e. after 12 noon."
Further, in a tweet, BMC issued an emergency helpline number: 1916. "For assistance or official information, citizens may please contact the main Control Room of the BMC on the helpline number 1916," said BMC.
Waterlogging and traffic jams were reported in several major junctions on Monday morning. Mumbai Nowcast predicted no respite from rains for the next few hours. "South Mumbai, Bandra, Dadar, Kurla, Andheri Area will get non-stop heavy rains," it predicted. Red alerts are also issued in other districts of Maharashtra, including Raigad (Navi Mumbai) and Ratnagiri, the ghats of Pune, Satara, and Kolhapur.
Heavy showers are ramping up in the city, reducing visibility and leading to traffic jams at crucial points. Roads are flooded in multiple localities.
Meanwhile, a school bus was stuck in a flooding water near Matunga on Monday. Rescued by the police official, they took the children into the police station and provided them with snacks. A video of the scene shared on X (formerly Twitter) shows police personnel in yellow rain coats picking up children from a school bus and bringing them to a safe place from inundated roads. The teacher and the staff were also rescued from the bus.
A Don Bosco school bus was carrying six children, two female staff members, and the driver, who remained trapped inside for nearly an hour.