BOMBAY, India – A record 37 inches of rain shut down the financial hub of Bombay (search), snapping communication lines and forcing thousands of people to sleep in offices or walk home during the night.
Troops were deployed Wednesday after the sudden monsoons stranded tens of thousands of people. There was no word on some 130 people feared trapped in mudslides in two villages.
"Most places in India don't receive this kind of rainfall in a year. This is the highest ever recorded in India's history. We have to compare it with world records to find out if this was the highest in the world," R.V. Sharma, director of meteorological department, told The Associated Press.
At least 62 people died in the states of Maharashtra and Kerala in weather-related tragedies on Tuesday.
The state-run All India Radio (search) reported about 150,000 people were stranded in railway stations across Bombay, India's main financial center and the capital of Maharashtra.
Early Wednesday, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh (search), the state's top elected official, called the army, navy and home guards to help with the relief effort.
"Inflatable rafts will be used to reach stranded people. Please try to stay where you are and don't leave your homes," he said.
Bombay's airport — one of the busiest in the country — was closed Tuesday evening.
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