Gujarat Monsoon Fury: Red Alert in Junagadh, Amreli; NDRF Deployed as Heavy Rains Unleash Flood-like Chaos

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have been deployed in Kutch, Jamnagar, Junagadh and Navsari after heavy rains fell on low-lying areas of towns and villages and created a flood-like situation in several parts of Gujarat. Saturday.

Very heavy rains kept hitting the state for more than 24 hours with Visavadar taluka in Junagadh district being one of the hardest hit after receiving 398 mm of rain, followed by Jamnagar taluka in Jamnagar district (269 mm), Kaprada in Valsad (247 mm), Anjar in Kutch (239mm) and Khargam in Navsari (222mm), according to data from the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC).

The Vanthali Ozat Viar Dam in Junagarh also overflowed due to heavy rains in the area.

Rains hit 144 talukas in the state, with Dharampur talukas in Valsad district recording the highest rainfall, at 7 inches, according to a government statement. The Visavadar taluka in Junagadh received heavy rainfall of 6.6 inches, while the Bhisan taluka also experienced heavy rain with a record of 6 inches. The town of Khargam Taluka in Navsari saw 5.3 inches of rain.

According to officials, areas in many districts in Saurashtra-Kutch and South Gujarat regions experienced very heavy rains, causing water saturation in low-lying areas and leaving villages submerged.

Officials said the Gandhiham railway station in Kutch was flooded due to heavy rains lashing the region while several villages and towns in Junagadh, Jamnagar, Kutch, Valsad, Navsari, Mehsana and Surat were submerged.

Pictures from Jamnagar showed houses and fields in the surrounding areas soaked due to the heavy rains. In Ged Panthak, some villages have seen water levels rise up to 3-4 feet, inundating fields and residential areas, according to News18 Gujarat.

Video shows homes and vehicles surrounded by water, and even a parked bus stuck in the middle of the flooded area. Farmers in Ged Panthak are very concerned about waterlogging as it poses a major threat to their crops, which can lead to huge losses. In addition, parts of Mangrol and Keshod are also facing severe waterlogging.

Normal life was thrown away at several places in Ahmedabad city too as waterlogging created heavy traffic jams and annoyance to commuters.

Nine deaths due to rain

The SEOC Bulletin said in a statement Friday that torrential rains have claimed at least nine lives in the past three days. It added that four children were killed in Panchahal district and two in Anand in wall collapses on Thursday. Moreover, two men drowned in Jamnagar and Aravali districts on Thursday, while a woman drowned in flood waters in Lathi Taluka of Amreli district on Friday, the report said.

CM holds an emergency meeting

Prime Minister Bhupendra Patil held an emergency meeting with SEOC officials in Gandhinagar on Friday night and instructed them to prioritize rescue and relief efforts, especially the evacuation of personnel staying in low-lying areas.

Patil spoke to collectors of Junagadh and Kutch districts, who briefed him on the rain situation, including waterlogging of villages in Visavadar taluka and evacuations of people along with other relief measures, a government statement said.

IMD forecasts more rain

According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the rainfall intensity is expected to decrease in the state on Saturday, and the situation is expected to gradually return to normal by Sunday.

However, the department warned that isolated areas in the north and south districts of Gujarat, as well as Saurashtra, may continue to receive heavy rain until Sunday morning. The IMD further stated that light to moderate rainfall will continue in various parts of the state through Wednesday morning.

The Met Department issued a red alert for heavy rain in Junagadh and Amrili while Bhavnagar and Gir Somnath were put on orange alert. A yellow alert was issued for Rajkot, Potad and Porbandar.

Mahesh Palawatte, Vice President of Meteorology at Skymet on Friday said, “June is likely to end with a 10 per cent deficit (in rain). However, rain activity is likely to pick up in the next seven days. Rain is likely Heavy in the coming days in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, easternmost parts of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and coastal areas of Maharashtra and Karnataka. We may witness an El Niño effect in the second half of July.”