Many school children who had left their schools in the afternoon were reported stranded in school buses.
Some schools did not allow the children to go out of the premises, as their parents had not come to fetch them.
Many parents work in south Mumbai and their children are in day care centres.
rediff.com has been getting mails from many such parents stranded in offices and worried about their children.
Neighbours, schoolteachers and creches assured parents that their kids were safe. Fire service and the police swung into action, rescuing those who were stranded.
Photograph: Jewella C Miranda