Large tracts of India's western financial hub of Mumbai were under water Wednesday as the weather bureau warned further heavy rains were on the way and the death toll from the monsoon deluge rose to nine.
Police said that since the rains began lashing the teeming city of 18 million people on Saturday, two people have been electrocuted, two have been hit by lightning while two street dwellers were crushed by a falling tree.
Three children drowned while playing in a well in a northern suburb. The weather bureau warned Wednesday that more "heavy to very heavy showers" were on the way and that "extremely heavy" rains were also possible. It said Mumbai had 44.4 centimetres (17 inches) of rain on Tuesday and another 19.3 cm during the day on Wednesday. Schools and colleges remained closed Wednesday but attendance in offices was reported better than at the beginning of the week.
Mumbai airport's main runway, meanwhile, was shut for two hours to enable damage caused by Tuesday's rains to be repaired, airport director R.J. Treasurywalla said. No flights were disrupted as a second runway was used.