Maharashtra is in the grip of devastating floods as relentless rains continue to lash the state, leaving at least six people dead and thousands displaced. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has sounded a high alert across Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri, and Sindhudurg, warning that the next 48 hours will be “critical” as the administration battles rising waters, landslides, and widespread destruction.
“The government is monitoring the situation round-the-clock. Evacuations from low-lying areas are underway, and all agencies are fully mobilised to ensure citizen safety,” Fadnavis assured after reviewing the disaster management response.
The heavy downpour has wreaked havoc across multiple regions. In Nanded, more than 290 people were rescued by NDRF, SDRF, and Army teams. In Raigad, torrential rain of over 160 mm in a single day pushed the Kundalika and Savitri rivers above danger levels, forcing schools and colleges to shut while landslides severed crucial road links in Mahad and Nagothane. Kolhapur witnessed the Radhanagari Dam releasing 11,500 cusecs of water, swelling the Panchganga River beyond safe limits for the fifth time this monsoon, while the Kolhapur–Ratnagiri highway was completely blocked by landslides. In Gadchiroli’s Bhamragad taluka, over 50 villages remain cut off after the Perlkota River overflowed, and in Washim, swollen rivers have destroyed large stretches of kharif crops. A 19-year-old youth tragically drowned in Kodpe village.
Several dams have begun discharging water as they reach capacity, with Chandoli Dam releasing into the Warna River, Koyna Dam into the Koyna River, and Radhanagari Dam into the Bhogavati River. Authorities have placed downstream villages on red alert as levels continue to rise. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar confirmed that nearly 10 lakh hectares of farmland lie submerged, adding that a full damage survey will be possible only once the rains subside.
The India Meteorological Department has linked the extreme rainfall to a low-pressure system over the Bay of Bengal and an active monsoon trough, predicting very heavy rain in Konkan and central Maharashtra over the next two days. Marathwada and Vidarbha remain under orange alert.
