"Who is responsible for this chaos?"

Recently, the issue has been recently responded to Mumbai, the financial capital of India, as thousands of residents find themselves trapped, soaked and frustrated again.

The heavy rains stagnated the city, before the monsoon began to be in full swing. Roads turned into rivers, vehicles destroyed the medium cost, and low-sluggish communities were flooded within hours.

Even a newly built underground subway station could not withstand the heavy downpour as the photos and videos of the batteries filled with muddy water spread.

The premonsoon flood once again exposed the city’s fragile infrastructure and caused widespread outrage on social media.

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), one of India's wealthiest civic organizations, initially blamed the problem on garbage that blocked drains and debris in subway construction, The Times of India reported.

After the criticism, BMC installed a dehydration pump in flood-prone areas and began manually removing waste from drains to prevent further pools. But for many residents, the action came too late.

The crisis is neither new - Mumbai is unique.

From Delhi to the north to Bengaluru to the south, India’s largest cities are flooded every monsoon season. Roads collapsed, drains overflowed, infrastructure overwhelmed, traffic was in trouble.

Experts attribute rapid unplanned urbanization, poor infrastructure and years of environmental neglect to the root causes of this problem.

“City expansion is far faster than supporting infrastructure development, especially in water and drainage systems,” said Dikshu Kukreja, an architect and urban planner in Delhi.

He added: “Many cities rely on outdated systems designed decades ago. Natural drainage channels, wetlands and water bodies once absorbed excess rainwater during the unrestricted expansion.”

Experts say that when designing an effective response, the unique challenges and factors each city faces, such as geography, population and climate, has to be taken into account, so there is no solution of a certain size.

India receives 80% of its annual rainfall during the monsoon season, which usually starts in June and continues until September.

Monsoons are crucial to agriculture and the livelihoods of millions of Indian farmers. They rely on seasonal showers in parts of the area where proper irrigation channels do not exist.

But experts say climate change makes weather unstable—such as non-seasonal rainfall, mountain flooding and droughts associated with extreme heat—a more conventional phenomenon that directly affects millions of people.

This year, the monsoon arrived a week early in parts of southern India, capturing the authorities.

“Depression that occurs in eastern Arabia helps increase monsoon currents,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice president of meteorology and climate change at weather forecasting company Skymet.

In Delhi, the Minto Bridge has become a symbol of the city's annual monsoon chaos. Almost every year, after heavy rain, buses or vans are trapped under the bridge - this image highlights the city’s struggle in urban floods.

Delhi recorded its wettest May since rainfall exceeded 185 mm this year, according to the Indian Weather Bureau.

Many residents reported their property damage.

According to media reports, at least four people were killed and dozens were injured in one of the two crises that hit the city in May.

Meanwhile, in Bengaluru, more than 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) from the capital, the problem looks different, but the root cause is the same.

Bangalore once famous for its network of lakes that help manage excess rainwater, but many of these bodies of water have been occupied. Now they stand on apartment buildings, business hubs and roads - making the city vulnerable to flooding.

“Bangaluru consists of three major valleys, and water flows naturally. Most of the lakes in the city are located in these valleys,” explains Lakewater conservationist Ram Prasad.

He said the valleys were initially designated as construction-free areas but had encroachments over the years, with subsequent legal changes allowing infrastructure projects to be built in the area.

“When you convert a lake to a lake that is traditionally a flood buffer, there is nowhere to go. So what we’re seeing in Bangalore today is the result of poor urban planning.”

Mr Prasad pointed out that Bangalore, sitting on the top of the mountain, never wanted to flood, and the current situation was completely man-made.

He said that violations of building codes, especially narrow stormwater drains or buildings built directly, made the situation worse.

Meanwhile, Mumbai faces natural challenges due to its geographical location. For example, many parts of Mumbai are in low-lying and close to the sea, which makes them more susceptible to flooding during heavy rains and tide tides.

But experts say human action makes the situation worse: Cutting down mangroves is often like a natural obstacle to flooding and built in floodplains of water that should have been discharged.

“Collapse is systemic – first of all, plans don’t usually tell about future climate change, which is exacerbated by poor implementation and exacerbated by weak regulations,” Mr. Kukerja said. “Political will is often reactive – responding to disasters rather than investing in long-term resilience.”

It's not just a big city problem. Smaller towns often suffer equally, and even more.

At least 30 people died in northeastern state of India over the weekend after heavy rains triggered floods and landslides. With the impact of rescue efforts, thousands of people were affected.

So, can anything be done to prevent this?

“Yes,” Mr. Kukreja said, but only if it is part of a long-term coordination strategy.

He recommends using mapping and real-time sensors to identify high-risk areas and alert communities. Predictive models can also help authorities plan for better response.

“But technology alone is not the solution, it needs to be paired with responsive governance and community engagement,” he said.

In order for Indian cities to withstand rain, they need not only dehydrated pumps and quick repairs. They need to have forward-looking plans before causing damage.

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