India, June 25 -- After a delay of nearly two weeks, the monsoon finally announced its arrival with force, unleashing an intense overnight downpour that flooded roads, uprooted trees, disrupted traffic and exposed the city's monsoon preparedness to heavy rain barely a day after the India Meteorological Department (IMD) declared the onset of the monsoon over the city.

The rain spell between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning triggered a series of civic emergencies across Mumbai and ignited a political slugfest over the city's monsoon preparedness, even as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) insisted that transport networks and essential services largely remained operational.

According to the BMC's disaster management department...