Mumbai’s 2005 Flood Heroes Saved Lives Against Odds!
Retired fire chief recalls daring rescues in historic deluge.
Twenty years ago, on July 26, 2005, Mumbai faced an unprecedented 944 mm of rainfall in 24 hours, unleashing flash floods and landslides that claimed 450 lives. Retired Mumbai Fire Brigade chief Prabhat Rahangdale still feels the weight of that day, when his team heroically rescued 300 people using kayaks and jet skis in areas like Kurla West, BKC, and Kalina.
With no dedicated flood rescue teams at the time, Rahangdale improvised, enlisting adventure sports personnel. Navigating treacherous, waterlogged roads in a jeep, his team reached BKC to set up a command center at the MTNL building. “Only three vehicles made it to Kalanagar crossing. Looking back, it was incredibly risky,” he told PTI.
The Mithi River’s eastern bank revealed a harrowing sight: a double-decker bus nearly submerged, with only its rooftop visible. Amid the chaos, Rahangdale’s team heard a woman’s cries. Perched on a power feeder pillar, she clung to her child as water rose to her waist. Using a kayak and jet ski, the team saved them. “She’d been stranded for 90 minutes. How she climbed that pillar with a child is beyond me,” Rahangdale said.
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Nearby, 20–25 people, including Divyang individuals and young girls, were trapped in another bus. The team used ropes and kayaks to pull them through emergency windows, guiding them to safety via the bus rooftop. “The upstream water’s force was our biggest challenge,” he recalled.
The next day, efforts shifted to Air India Colony, where residents needed food and water. Rahangdale, trained in structural collapse rescue but not floods, drew on a 2004 UN mission in Indonesia. “That flood rescue course was a game-changer,” he said.
The 2005 deluge transformed Mumbai’s disaster response. “We formed flood rescue and beach safety teams, saving countless lives since,” said Rahangdale, who later led responses to a hotel terrorist attack and a naval dockyard fire. He trained 160 personnel in swimming and equipped the Fire Brigade with boats and jet skis, significantly reducing flood-related fatalities.
Reflecting on the rescues, Rahangdale said, “Saving that woman and those Divyang individuals gave me immense satisfaction.” Mumbai’s resilience, forged in the 2005 floods, continues to inspire.
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