Several dead and dozens trapped as five-storey building collapses in flood-ravaged Mumbai

At least 16 people have died after a five-storey building collapsed in flood-hit Mumbai as a desperate search continues for survivors.

Rescue workers, police and locals managed to pull 30 people out of the debris alive as heavy machinery was brought in.

More than a dozen are believed to still be beneath the rubble in the western Indian city.

Residents in an adjacent building in the Bhendi Bazaar area in southern Mumbai have been urged to evacuate after it developed cracks.

Two days of torrential rain across the region, the heaviest for more than 15 years, has exposed the foundations of Mumbai's buildings and left them at risk of collapse.

Building collapses are common in India during the monsoon season, which is June to September.

Mumbai has been flooded after the heaviest rain for more than 15 years. Credit: AP

Transport in the city ground to a halt as roads turned into rivers and floodwaters swept across many low-lying buildings.

Drivers were forced to leave their vehicles while people waded through waist-deep water to reach their homes.