The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday issued a 'red alert' for north Konkan, north central Maharashtra, east and west Vidarbha, forecasting heavy to very heavy rainfall in the regions.

Relief is likely after August 12, it said.

Various parts of Maharashtra have been witnessing heavy showers since Sunday and the IMD said the heavy rainfall is likely to continue over the state.

The IMD has also issued an 'orange alert' for Marathwada, south central Maharashtra and south Konkan.

It said parts of the state could witness heavy to very heavy rainfall, while isolated places could also receive extremely heavy downpour.

The MeT department issues four colour-coded predictions based on the prevailing weather systems. The green colour indicates no warning, yellow is to keep a watch, orange is to stay alert, while red means a warning and action needs to be taken.

Heavy rains, strong winds lash Mumbai

Heavy rainfall coupled with strong winds lashed Mumbai and its suburbs on Tuesday morning, leading to inundation in some low-lying areas, civic officials said.

The local trains, considered as the lifeline of Mumbai, and bus services of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) were running with a delay of 5 to 15 minutes, they said.

According to civic officials, the city could face water-logging if it rains heavily in the morning hours as there will be a high tide of 4.03 meters at 9.54 am.

On Monday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had issued an 'orange' alert for Mumbai, predicting heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places.

The city started witnessing heavy rains from Monday midnight, and the intensity increased early Tuesday morning with strong winds, according to some citizens.

Some low-lying areas like the Andheri subway were submerged, forcing authorities to divert the traffic through alternate routes, civic officials said.

The city recorded 51.35 mm rain in the 24-hour period till 8 am on Tuesday. The eastern and western suburbs received 76.18 mm and 97.11 mm rainfall respectively during the same period.