The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday issued an ‘orange’ alert for parts of Gujarat and said the state is expected to witness "heavy to very heavy rainfall" on Monday. IMD Scientist Dr. Naresh Kumar said the monsoon continues to remain in the active phase, adding that the state is expected to receive extremely heavy rainfall for the next 24 hours under the influence of an active monsoon. He also said that heavy rainfall may continue at isolated places after the extremely heavy rainfall, which means more than 20 cm, reported news agency ANI on Twitter.
Another officer at IMD Ahmedabad, Abhimanyu Chauhan said, "Heavy to very heavy rainfall will occur in Gujarat in the next 24 hours. However, he said there will be a drastic decrease in rainfall from the day after tomorrow.
The IMD also predicted heavy to very heavy rains in a few places with isolated extremely heavy rainfall in Devbhumi Dwarka, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, and Valsad districts in the next 24 hours.
Alert For Heavy To Very Heavy Rainfall At Isolated Places In Maharashtra
Meanwhile, the weather department has also issued an 'orange' alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places in Maharashtra's Palghar, Raigad, Ratnagiri, and Sindhudurg districts for tomorrow, reported ANI.
Speaking on the matter, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said the state government was fully alert to tackle issues caused by excessive rains. He said he has already directed the administration of all areas, where heavy rainfall is expected, and teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and their state counterpart SDRF to be present when required, reported PTI.
Flood-Like Situation In Gujarat's Junagadh Improves
Notably, in Gujarat, the predictions and heavy rainfall warnings come amid the receding flood waters in the rain-battered Junagadh district a day after torrential rains on Sunday. Officials said the focus now was on restoring normalcy. So far, around 3,000 people have been shifted to safer places in the district.
The city of Junagadh recorded 241 mm rainfall in the 24-hour period ending at 6 am on Sunday, which resulted in waterlogging in many parts, leaving damaged cars piled on each other and carcasses of cattle swept away in flash floods, said officials, as reported by PTI.
Earlier on Saturday, two national highways, 10 state highways, and 300 rural roads were closed in Gujarat due to flooding, and the traffic was only resumed at many places after the water receded, said the officials.
Speaking on the matter, Junagadh Collector Anil Ranavasiya said, as quoted by PTI, "Water has receded from the city after the rains stopped. Around 200 people were rescued and 750 were shifted from low-lying areas in the city.”
He further informed that another batch of 2,220 people were shifted to safer places in rural areas adjoining the city as a proactive measure. “The effort to restore electricity was nearly completed, and food packets were being distributed to people living in shelters,” said Ranavasiya.
According to him, several teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and fire department were involved in restoring normalcy.
Authorities are now focusing on cleanliness in the city as many cranes were deputed to remove vehicles swept away and damaged due to flooding in some areas, and dewatering pumps were deployed to remove water accumulated in residential areas.
Earlier, on Saturday evening, Ahmedabad city recorded 125 mm of rainfall in just a couple of hours. Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel regarding the flood-like situation in various parts of the state due to the recent heavy rainfall.