- IMD issues red alert as extremely heavy rainfall hammers Gujarat, schools shut, trains affected
- 17,827 people have been evacuated, and 1,653 people have been rescued
- The education department declares a holiday for all primary schools
- 13 teams of the NDRF and 22 teams of the SDRF were deployed across the state to deal with potential flooding and disaster-like situation.
NE NEWS SERVICE
AHMEDABAD, AUG 26
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday issued red alert for Gujarat as extremely heavy rainfall battered the state. Barring five districts – Patan, Mehsana, Gandhinagar, Jamnagar, and Gir Somnath, the weather office issued red alert for entire Gujarat.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke with Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi on Monday, assuring them of Central assistance amid the ongoing crisis.
The Gujarat government has been taking all necessary precautions amid a heavy rainfall forecast for the state, an official said on Monday.
ભારે વરસાદના પગલે જાહેર જનતા માટે કેટલીક સલામતી માટેની મહત્વપૂર્ણ સૂચનાઓ. તમારા ઘરની બહાર નીકળતી વખતે સાવચેતી રાખો અને સુરક્ષિત રહો. #amc #amcforpeople #StaySafe #WeatherUpdates #GujaratRain #RainAlert #MonsoonSafety #WeatherWarning #StayInformed #Ahmedabad #AhmedabadRain… pic.twitter.com/tZhfHCv1IQ
— Amdavad Municipal Corporation (@AmdavadAMC) August 26, 2024
On Sunday night, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel held discussions over telephone with the district collectors of seven key districts to assess the rain situation and ensure proper preparedness.
The Chief Minister specifically contacted the collectors of Morbi, Kutch, Rajkot, Surendranagar, Bhavnagar in the Saurashtra region, and Bharuch and Dang in southern Gujarat, directing them to “stay vigilant, protect lives and livestock, and manage disaster responses effectively”, an official said.
હવામાન વિભાગ દ્વારા રાજ્યના વિવિધ વિસ્તારોમાં ભારે વરસાદની આગાહીના પગલે તંત્ર કોઈ પણ પરિસ્થિતિને પહોંચી વળવા માટે સંપૂર્ણ સજ્જ છે. આ સાથે જ લોકોને સાવધાન રહેવા તથા બિનજરૂરી ઘરની બહાર ન નીકળવા અપીલ કરવામાં આવે છે. https://t.co/TWAz2bQhzn
— CMO Gujarat (@CMOGuj) August 26, 2024
Parts of Ahmedabad and capital city Gandhinagar have also been inundated leading to waterlogged streets being closed down, flooding and infrastructural damage. In Kutch, the Nakhtrana – Lakhpat Highway was waterlogged amid heavy rainfall which triggered a flood like situation in the region.
કટોકટીના સમયે કપરા સંજોગોમાં પણ તમામ અડચણો દૂર કરી નાગરિકોની સહાય માટે તત્પર ‘108’ ઇમરજન્સી એમ્બ્યુલન્સ સેવાના કર્મયોગીઓની સરાહનીય કામગીરી.#RainfallinGujarat https://t.co/gS5T67ogwC
— CMO Gujarat (@CMOGuj) August 26, 2024
The situation is expected to worsen with the weather department warning of even more rainfall for the next couple of days. Due to a heavy extremely rain warning, the education department has declared a holiday for all primary schools.
મુખ્યમંત્રી શ્રી ભૂપેન્દ્રભાઈ પટેલે રાજ્યમાં ભારે વરસાદને કારણે સર્જાયેલી પરિસ્થિતિનો તાગ મેળવવા ગાંધીનગર સ્થિત સ્ટેટ ઇમરજન્સી ઓપરેશન સેન્ટર ખાતે ઉચ્ચ સ્તરીય બેઠક યોજી હતી તથા વરસાદગ્રસ્ત જિલ્લાઓના કલેકટરશ્રીઓ, મ્યુનિસિપલ કમિશ્નરશ્રીઓ તથા જિલ્લા અધિકારીઓ પાસેથી વીડિયો કોન્ફરન્સના… pic.twitter.com/t5jI3UIgjV
— CMO Gujarat (@CMOGuj) August 26, 2024
Relentless rainfall has battered Gujarat’s districts of Navsari, Valsad, Dang, Tapi, Surat, and Bharuch over the weekend. Khergam taluka in Navsari district bore the brunt of the deluge, with an astonishing 527mm of rainfall recorded over 48 hours, including a staggering 262mm within just 12 hours on Sunday alone.
“So far, 17,827 people have been evacuated, and 1,653 people have been rescued in the state. Thirteen NDRF teams and twenty-two SDRF teams have been deployed in the affected districts, assisting in rescue and relief operations,” a release from the Gujarat government stated.
The unrelenting downpour caused rivers such as the Ambika, Purna, and Kaveri in Navsari district to overflow, while the Damanganga and Auranga rivers in Valsad district also became dangerously turbulent. Over 100 people were relocated to safer areas in Navsari, while Valsad saw the evacuation of 600 residents.
Meanwhile, the depression over northwest Madhya Pradesh and adjoining east Rajasthan is expected to intensify into a deep depression over east Rajasthan within the next 12 hours. It is likely to continue moving west-southwestwards across south Rajasthan and Gujarat, potentially reaching the northeast Arabian Sea off Saurashtra and Kutch by the morning of August 29.
Accordingly, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast isolated extremely heavy rainfall likely from August 26-29. Gujarat region will remain under a red warning on August 26-27, and Saurashtra-Kutch from August 26-28. Further, an orange alert will prevail over Saurashtra-Kutch on August 29.
The official said that 13 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and 22 teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) were deployed across the state to deal with potential flooding and disaster-like situation.
NDRF teams have been positioned in Gandhinagar, Vadodara, Amreli, Banaskantha, Bhavnagar, Dwarka, Gir Somnath, Junagadh, Kutch, Morbi, Narmada, Navsari, Surat, Surendranagar, and Valsad to tackle all sorts of emergencies.
Meanwhile, SDRF teams are on standby in Anand, Ahmedabad, Banaskantha, Bharuch, Chhota Udepur, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Kheda, Mahisagar, Morbi, Narmada, Navsari, Panchmahal, Patan, Porbandar, Rajkot, Surat, Tapi, and Dang.
As per data from the State Emergency Operation Centre, Vapi taluka in Valsad district received 326 millimetres rainfall in a 24-hour period till 6 am on Sunday, the highest in the state, while Khergam in Navsari got 248 mm since 6 am. Districts like Surat, Tapi and Narmada have also been severely affected due to heavy rains, official said.
North Gujarat has so far received 64.91 per cent of average annual rainfall, while east-central Gujarat has received 68.84 per cent, the SEOC data showed.
Amid rainfall in catchment areas, the water level of Sardar Sarovar Narmada dam rose sharply and stood at 135.30 metres on Sunday, just a few metres below its full-reservoir capacity of 138.68 metres, officials said.
The state’s 206 reservoirs contained 3.64 lakh million cubic feet of water, representing 65 percent of their total capacity. Due to substantial increases in water levels, 72 reservoirs were put on high alert and 15 on regular alert.
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