Normal life was disrupted in Mumbai, Thane and the surrounding areas following heavy rains since Tuesday night which continued virtually unstopped till Wednesday morning.

Several low-lying areas of the city have been flooded with two to four feet of water, including Charni Road, Mumbai Central, Mazagaon, Byculla, Parel, Worli, Matunga, Sion, Dadar in the southern parts of the city. 

Similarly in the suburbs, areas like Jogeshwari, Goregaon, Kandivli, Versova-Juhu, Ghatkopar, Mulund and neighbouring areas were flooded.

The flooding is attributed to the high tide that has prevented the storm water from flowing into the Arabian Sea.

Surface and air transport were hit with massive traffic snarls on the two highways serving the city, the three branches of suburban railways and the Mumbai airport.

A spokesman for Mumbai International Airport Ltd. said that due to low visibility which had dipped to around 200 metres, and flooding on the main runway, all flight operations had been suspended for nearly 30 minutes this morning.

Mumbai airport operations have been affected for the second time since Friday when heavy rains had caused disruptions in the city. 

According to a spokesman for Central Railway (CR), there was an average 30-40 minute delay in train services on the main and harbour lines, severely inconveniencing office-goers. 

The Western Railway (WR) also reported similar delays on account of waterlogging on the tracks between Mahim and Mumbai Central.

Till this morning, the Weather Bureau has recorded nearly 78 mm of rain in the city and 33 mm in the suburbs. The season's total has grown to 568 mm (still a 221 mm deficit) in the city and 574 mm (a 208 mm deficit) in the suburbs.

Despite the appreciable increase in rains, the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) has imposed additional 10% water cut, taking the total to 30%, since Tuesday. 

This is because there is still insufficient rainfall in the catchment areas of the six lakes in and around the city that supply water to Mumbai, civic officials explained. Accordingly, taps run dry within 15-30 minutes in some areas due to low supply and low pressure. 

In neighbouring Thane district, there was waterlogging in Vashi, Kalyan, Dombivili, Thane city, Mira Road and Nalla Sopara areas. 

The weather bureau has forecast heavy rains with thundershowers over large parts of the city and suburbs over the next 48 hours.