Mumbai, Aug. 18 -- The Weather Department has issued a Red and Orange alert for 24 hours in several districts of Maharashtra. The state has been experiencing heavy rainfall since early Monday morning.

The Red alert has been issued in areas including Mumbai, Raigad, Pune Ghat, Satara Ghat, Ratnagiri, and Kolhapur Ghat. Several districts, including Palghar, Thane, Sindhudurg, Jalgaon, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jalna, Beed, Latur, Amravati, Chandrapur, and Gadchiroli, have been put under orange alert.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has declared a holiday in all schools after heavy rains. The BMC PRO issued a statement saying that all schools of the afternoon shift will remain closed on Monday.

The civic body has also appeal...