Gujarat rains: 14 people killed in heavy rains, 31,000 people evacuated so far

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a ‘Red Alert’ predicting heavy rains during the next 24 hours in the districts of Saurashtra and South Gujarat.

Three national highways were blocked in Kutch, Navsari and Dang districts due to the damage caused by the rains.

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Heavy rains have led to severe water logging and flood-like situation in Jalalpur, Navsari.

State Disaster Management Minister Rajendra Trivedi told reporters that 51 state highways and over 400 panchayat roads were also damaged.

“14 people lost their lives in the last 24 hours. Of these, nine died due to drowning,” he said.

He said Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has directed the administration to conduct a survey of the affected districts at the earliest so that people do not have to wait long for cash and other relief to compensate for the damage caused by the rains.

According to the State Emergency Operation Center (SEOC), parts of Junagadh, Gir Somnath, Dang and Amreli received rainfall in the range of 47 mm to 88 mm in four hours between 6 am and 10 am on Wednesday.

Many parts of Kutch, Bharuch, Dang, Navsari and Tapi districts of South Gujarat received very heavy rains in a span of 24 hours till 6 am on Wednesday.

SEOC officials said Rajkot, Gir Somnath, Amreli and Jamnagar were among the districts in the Saurashtra region that received heavy rains.

Trivedi said 31,035 people were shifted to safer places, of which 21,094 are still living in shelters provided by the respective district administrations and 9,941 are returning to their homes after the rain water receded.

He said that a total of 575 people stranded due to floods in low-lying areas of various districts have been rescued. Trivedi said that eighteen teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed for the rescue work and two have been kept ready.

CM Patel had conducted an aerial inspection of the flood affected areas on Tuesday and also visited the affected areas in Chhota Udaipur, Navsari and Narmada districts.

The heavy rains have also raised the water level of various reservoirs in the state, of which 30 reservoirs have been filled to 70 per cent or more of the total storage capacity.

The minister said that the state’s largest Sardar Sarovar Dam is also filled up to 48 percent of its total capacity. According to SEOC, Vagra taluka of Bharuch district received 233 mm of rain in a span of 24 hours till 6 am on Wednesday.

Anjar, Kutch and Gandhidham taluks of Kutch district received 212, 197 and 171 mm of rain, respectively, while Waghai in Dang recorded 174 mm of rain. The SEOC said that 25 talukas received 100 mm or more of rain during this period.

(with inputs from PTI)

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