Due to the torrential rains in Gujarat for the last three days, rivers are in spate and many districts and cities including Vadodara, Mahisagar, Kheda, Junagadh, Bharuch and Ahmedabad have been submerged. So far 16 people have died in the state due to flood related incidents. Water has filled from cities to villages and streets. Six to eight feet of water has filled the houses, due to which there is chaos in the entire state. There are some areas where water has filled up to 10 to 12 feet.
Meanwhile, many people have taken shelter on the roofs of their houses and some on high places, but they are restless due to hunger and thirst for the last three days. A ground report of NDTV says that the women have told their pain and said that they neither have food nor water and no toilet facilities. A woman, crying, told her story that she has been hungry and thirsty with her children for the last three days. The children are crying because she has no arrangements and till now no official has reached them with any relief material.
Officials said that rain continued for the fourth consecutive day on Wednesday in some parts of the state. At the same time, 8500 people have been rescued from the flood affected areas and taken to safe places. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took stock of the situation by talking to Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel over the phone and assured all possible help from the Center in this crisis.
Now the army has also been called for relief and rescue operations. The official said that the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Army, Indian Air Force and Indian Coast Guard are jointly conducting relief and rescue operations in the flood-affected areas. In a government release, it was said that three people died due to wall collapse in Anand district on Tuesday. Two people died in Mahisagar district and one each died in wall collapse incidents in Kheda and Ahmedabad. One person each died due to drowning in rain-filled waters in Junagadh and Bharuch districts.
Heavy rain warning in Gujarat today and tomorrow, which districts have red alert and which have orange alert?
Officials said that a total of 169 people were rescued on Tuesday, most of whom are residents of Kheda and Morbi districts. He said that 8460 other people were rescued and taken to safe places. These include about 3,000 people from Navsari and about one thousand each from Vadodara and Kheda. With this, more than 15,000 people have been rescued and taken to safe places in two days on Monday and Tuesday. Officials said that the number of people who died in rain-related incidents in Gujarat in the last two days has increased to 16.
Chief Minister Patel said in a post on the social media platform ‘X’, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji spoke to me over the phone to take stock of the situation of heavy rains in Gujarat and inquired about the relief and rescue operations.” He said that Prime Minister Modi talked about the safety of humans and animals and assured all necessary help from the central government. Patel said, “The Prime Minister is concerned about the flood situation in Gujarat and is constantly monitoring the situation. He has deep affection for the people of Gujarat. During natural disasters and whenever there is a need, he always stands with Gujarat and the people of the state.”
Heavy rains continue to wreak havoc in Gujarat, 9 more people died; PM Modi spoke to CM
According to data shared by the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC), several districts of Saurashtra region, especially Devbhoomi Dwarka, Jamnagar, Porbandar and Rajkot, received very heavy rainfall in the 24-hour period ending at 6 am on Wednesday. It said that Khambhalia taluka of Devbhoomi Dwarka district received 454 millimetres (mm) of rainfall, followed by Jamnagar at 387 mm and Jamjodhpur taluka of Jamnagar at 329 mm.
According to SEOC, during this period, 13 of the 251 talukas of the state received more than 200 mm of rain and 39 received more than 100 mm of rain, which disrupted life and caused waterlogging in low-lying areas. Although the rain has stopped in Vadodara, many low-lying areas of the city have been submerged due to flooding in the Vishwamitri river. However, relief and rescue operations of NDRF, SDRF and other agencies are continuing.
Officials said that five contingents of the army have been deployed for relief and rescue operations in Morbi, Anand, Devbhoomi Dwarka, Rajkot and Vadodara. According to an official release, 137 reservoirs, lakes and 24 rivers in the state are flowing above the danger mark, causing flooding in low-lying areas.
The Western Railway said that roads and railway lines were inundated due to the rain, which also disrupted traffic and train movement. Eight trains, including the Mumbai-bound Vande Bharat Express, were cancelled and 10 other trains were partially cancelled. The SEOC said that Gujarat has so far received 105 per cent of its average annual rainfall, with Banaskantha receiving the least rainfall among all 33 districts. Banaskantha has received 73 per cent of its average annual rainfall. (With Bhasha inputs)
