Mumbai, June 16 (IANS) Heavy rains Wednesday threw life out of gear in Mumbai, seriously affecting rail, road and air traffic. Eight people died in a wall collapse in neighbouring Thane district.

Mumbai got close to 100 mm rains in 12 hours, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) here said.

As rain water flooded the tracks, local trains, the lifeline of Mumbai, plied 10 to 30 minutes behind schedule, officials said.

According to an IMD official, Colaba in south Mumbai received 78 mm of rainfall and Santacruz about 95 mm, flooding scores of streets.

Traffic had to be diverted at Parel and Dadar in south-central Mumbai and Khar, Santacruz, Andheri, Jogeshwari, Malad, Kandivli and Borivli in the western suburbs of the city.

Air traffic was also hit, with most flights delayed by 35-40 minutes.

"Heavy rains, strong winds of between 15-20 knots and fluctuating visibility have impacted operations," an airport official said.

Drains in several low-lying areas of Mumbai got choked, forcing the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to press workers and pumps to clear rainwater from several roads.

"We have deployed 200 pumps," said BMC Commissioner Swadheen Kshatriya.

Early Wednesday, eight people were crushed to death in sleep when a wall collapsed in Dyaneshwar Nagar area in Thane.

A high alert has been sounded in the low-lying areas of Mumbai. Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea till Thursday in view of high tides measuring about 4.70 meters.