Indian monsoon engulfs more than 250 lives so far

Torrential rains engulfed more than 250 lives since the monsoon began in June, of which 41 dead across India over the past 2 days.

Heavy rains kept schools and colleges closed for a third day on Wednesday and meteorologists still forecast more for Mumbai.

However, there were no new reports of casualties in Bombay, where the latest spell of rains killed seven on Monday. Road, rail and air travel in and out of the city stayed to be disrupted.

State meteorologists warned of heavy rains for the next three days, and Bombay's civic authorities recommended residents to stay home.

Johny Joseph, Bombay's municipal commissioner said, "We are constantly clearing water-logged roads," adding that "Drainage is the main problem and our men are on the job."

Fire authorities are in process to clear uprooted trees blocking main roads, while owners of flooded shops in low-lying areas opened to check their losses.

Bombay routinely floods during the monsoon, which can last until September. Citizens have long blamed clogged drains, debris piled on sidewalks and a lax municipal administration.

In other parts of country, monsoon showers swept away many lives. In the eastern coastal state of Orissa, overnight, at least nine people were swept away in flash floods taking the death toll in the state and neighbouring Jharkhand to 33. Torrent monsoon also damaged hundreds of hectares of rice paddy.

The deaths in Orissa, which occurred Tuesday, were majority from landslides or drowning, Orissa's Revenue Minister Manmohan Samal informed.

Landslides and flooding claimed eight lives in the southern states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Dozens were reported missing in Orissa and in Andhra Pradesh.

In Chattisgarh, heavy downpour for the fourth consecutive day forced authorities to issue a flood warning in six districts. Authorities warned the district collectors of Raipur, Bilaspur, Dhamtari, Mahasamund, Janjgir-Champa and Raigarh as well as Sambalpur in neighbouring Orissa of a possible flood as 15,000 cusec of water was being released per second from Pandit Ravi Shankar Sagar Dam, also known as Gangrel Dam, into the Mahanadi River following heavy rainfall in the catchment areas, official sources said.

Heavy rains in Valsad and Navsari districts of south Gujarat have prompted the administration to issue an alert and plan evacuation of as many as 4,000 people from low-lying areas and banks of major rivers, official sources said.

As per the reports, Surat witnessed about 142 mm of rains in the city since Tuesday night.