India, May 27 -- With the southwest monsoon reaching Mumbai on Monday, nearly 15 days ahead of schedule, heavy rains lashed the island city starting around 6am and continued unabated till mid-afternoon.

The earliest ever arrival of the monsoon in the city caught everyone unawares. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) kept revising its alerts - from a yellow alert in the morning to an orange alert in between to a red alert at 12:30pm. Most residents left their homes for work in the morning, only to be caught in the showers and storm. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), trailing on monsoon preparedness, grappled with waterlogging in low-lying areas as well as newer spots that rarely got flooded earlier.

Railways and metro s...