Gujarat is battered with heavy monsoon rains with flood-like situations in the multiple cities of the state. In Junagadh district, heavy rains displayed their fury with cars being washed away by rivers. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued red, orange, and yellow alerts for various Gujarat districts till 24 July. ‘
“Junagadh received heavy rainfall today…Water in large amounts has entered the city…The people are safe, however, NDRF and SDRF teams are deployed there…,” Gujarat Minister Raghavji Patel on flood-like situation in the city said.
“Due to heavy rains in Junagadh, CM Bhupendra Patel cancelled all his programs and called an emergency meeting at the collector’s office. 4 municipal teams, 25,000 food packets and NDRF teams from Rajkot district are also being sent to Junagadh for relief and rescue work,” Rajkot Collector Prabhav Joshi said.
In Junagadh, cattle, vehicles wash away in heavy flow of water as incessant rainfall trigger severe flooding in residential areas.
The administration has deployed two companies of NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) and SDRF (State Disaster Response Force) has also allocated to undertake relief efforts in the district. The officials said that more than 25,000 food packets were being prepared with the support of various social organizations to deliver food to the affected people in Junagadh district.
The weather department has issued a forecast of extremely heavy rainfall in several parts of Gujarat on July 21 and 22. The intensity of rainfall is likely to reduce by 24 July and moderate rainfall is also expected on 25 July, the met department informed. IMD Ahmedabad warned that some areas of the state might receive 8 inches of rain.
IMD has issued a ‘red alert’ for Junagadh, Jamnagar, Devbhumi Dwarka, Kutch, Surat, Valsad, Navsari and Surat, ‘orange alert’ for Ahmedabad, Anand, Bharuch, Banaskantha, Sabarkantha, Amreli, Jamnagar, Gir Somnath, Kutch and ‘yellow’ alert for Surendranagar, Dahod, Junagadh, Rajkot, Botad, Vadodara, Surat, Navsari. The weather alerts will be operational till 24 July.
Floods in low-lying areas
In the past few days, the state experienced relentless heavy rainfall, resulting in floods in low-lying regions of Saurashtra and Kutch on Wednesday. Furthermore, Rajkot faced severe waterlogging due to continuous and heavy rainfall on Thursday.
Earlier in the week, the devastating impact of the ongoing rains led to three fatalities. Among these incidents, two deaths occurred in Surendranagar district, and one was reported in Rajkot district. However, around 300 people were successfully rescued from the affected areas as authorities conducted rescue operations in response to the calamitous situation.
In response to the ongoing rain situation, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Forces (SDRF) have been placed on high alert. Considering the heavy inflow of water, 43 out of Gujarat’s 206 reservoirs are on high alert, while 18 others are on alert mode. The state government has issued warnings for an additional 19 reservoirs, highlighting the severity of the situation.
Furthermore, the weather authorities have issued a fresh weather warning for several states, including Maharashtra, Odisha, and flood-affected Himachal Pradesh, cautioning them about potential adverse weather conditions in the upcoming days. This step is aimed at ensuring preparedness and timely response to any potential weather-related emergencies in these regions.
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Updated: 22 Jul 2023, 10:49 PM IST
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