Storms, heavy rains kill four in Mumbai region

Storms and heavy rains have killed at least four people in India's financial capital Mumbai and the surrounding region, forcing schools to close and disrupting train services, officials and local reports said Thursday.

Some parts of the city had received over 230 millimetres (nine inches) of rain during a five-hour period on Wednesday evening, according to the Times of India newspaper, which cited data from local weather stations.

Local television broadcast images of harried commuters making their way through knee-deep water that partially submerged vehicles in different parts of Mumbai on Wednesday night.

One 45-year-old woman drowned in the suburb of Andheri, a municipal official told AFP.

Two labourers were also killed after being struck by lightning in the city of Kalyan, around 40 kilometres outside Mumbai, while another woman drowned near a waterfall in Khopoli, according to local media reports.

Schools were ordered shut on Thursday and municipal authorities called on residents to avoid leaving their homes if possible.

Water on local railway tracks caused trains to be delayed and run at "cautious speeds" on Wednesday night.

"As the water recedes, the train will continue its journey to your destination," India's central railway said in a post on X.