Heavy Rains Wreak Havoc in Gujarat As Cars, Cattle Swept Away; Junagadh Worst Hit | WATCH

Gujarat was hit by heavy rains as incessant rains caused a flood-like situation on Saturday, with Junagadh being the hardest hit. The stunning images showed dozens of parked cars and livestock being washed away in the rushing waters.

Junagadh city witnessed 219 mm of rain during the 8 hours till 4 pm on Saturday. Pictures on social media showed people wading into deeper waters to move to safer places. Meanwhile, some of them are rescued by volunteers as they are carried away in strong currents.

Navsari and Junagadh districts were the most affected by the heavy rains which caused flooding in various residential areas and markets.

Navsari

Navsari district has been hit by heavy rains, disrupting normal life in both urban and rural areas with floods. Between 6 am and 4 pm, Navsari and Jalalpur talukas received 303 mm and 276 mm of rain respectively.

Navsari city received more than 200 mm of rain in a few hours, flooding the sewage system resulting in water seepage on roads and low-lying areas. The constant showers also created massive traffic jams, but concerted efforts by authorities helped bring the situation under control, additional collector Ketan Joshi said.

A warehouse storing empty gas cylinders was also affected when water gushed out after a wall collapsed, washing away LPG containers. He said the district’s supply department is investigating.

According to the Government Emergency Operations Center (SEOC), Devbhumi Dwarka, Bhavnagar, Bharuch, Surat, Tapi, Valsad and Amreli were among the districts that experienced heavy rains on Saturday.

Moreover, heavy rains caused traffic jams on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad National Highway near Navsari due to floods. Due to rains in Navsari district, there was a 5-7 km traffic jam on the national highway. At present, traffic towards Ahmedabad and Mumbai has been opened, said SK Ray, DSB, Navsari.

Navsari Collector, Amit Prakash Yadav, said the area witnessed heavy rains between 8 am and 12 am, which resulted in waterlogging in many parts of the city. The water has receded almost everywhere, but some low-lying areas are still submerged. 40 teams are in place. No casualties have been reported, but one person is missing and the search is still going on,” he said.

One is missing, and two are drowning

In the city of Navsari, the father and son duo are swept away in an overgrown drain. The man was rescued, but efforts are underway to track down the son, according to an official. In another tragic accident near Silvassa town of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, father and son duo drowned after washing their car. The incident happened on Friday night when they were trying to cross a low bridge and got caught in the fast moving water. Their bodies were found inside the vehicle by the rescue team on Saturday noon, according to an official statement.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a warning of heavy to very heavy rain, including isolated very heavy rain, in the districts of South Gujarat and Saurashtra of Kutch until Sunday morning. Several other districts in southern Gujarat and Saurashtra-Kutch will continue to experience heavy to very heavy rains over the next three days, according to the IMD forecast.

In addition, the IMD has warned fishermen not to venture along and off the North Gujarat coast from July 22 to July 26, as bad weather is very likely to prevail during this period.

(with inputs from ANI and PTI)