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Over the last few years Mumbai -- India's financial and commercial capital - has been affected by adverse climatic events leading to flooding and landslides resulting in high loss of lives and property. While different sections of the population were affected, the poor and the socially marginalized -- living in environmentally risk prone areas -- were more affected than others. In view of the dearth of comprehensive studies linking social vulnerability and environmental risks in Mumbai, this paper attempts to throw some light on this relationship with a specific focus on populations living and working close to the Mithi river which flows through parts of the city. Flooding of the Mithi river has been a major reason for death and destruction in the city during major flooding events in recent years. Contrary to popular views blaming the government, the local municipal corporation and encroachments for enhanced environmental hazards in Mumbai, the paper brings out a more complicated picture of the links between poverty, power distribution in society, discrimination, and environmental changes and shifts that have led to the current crisis. In doing so the article engages with some classical sociological perspectives on risk developed by Mary Douglas and Ulrich Beck, and critiques their applicability, especially in non-western contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]