Gujarat Flood: 11,900 Shifted To Shelter Homes, 270 Rescued As Narmada Flows Above 'Danger' Mark

Continuous downpours in several parts of Gujarat has wreaked havoc in the state following which around 11,900 people were shifted to shelter homes and 270 stranded people were rescued since Sunday.

The destruction caused after the Machhannala dam in Gujarat's Dahod overflew due to heavy rains

Source : Twitter/@ANI

Incessant rain has been lashing parts of Gujarat since Sunday which has led to the relocation of 11,900 people who were living in the low-lying areas of Vadodara, Bharuch, Narmada, Dahod, Panchmahal, Anand, and Gandhinagar districts, to shelter homes. Around 270 stranded citizens have been rescued so far. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel in a statement said that work is underway to clear roads by removing fallen trees, reported news agency PTI. 

"Relief and rescue operations are being carried out wherever needed with the help of 10 teams of both NDRF and SDRF. In all, nearly 11,900 persons living in low-lying areas of Vadodara, Bharuch, Narmada, Dahod, Panchmahal, Anand and Gandhinagar districts were shifted to shelter homes. As many as 270 stranded citizens were rescued by the administration while work is on to clear roads by removing fallen trees," CM Patel said.

Water was released from Machhannala dam in Dahod following which the Galteshwar Bridge Kheda got submerged.

#WATCH | Galteshwar Bridge in Gujarat's Kheda was submerged today after water was released from Machhannala dam in Dahod following heavy rains in the area pic.twitter.com/mWMM3fOpuL

— ANI (@ANI) September 18, 2023

As per officials, more than 6,000 people who were living along the banks of the Narmada River in the Bharuch district have been shifted to safer places in the last two days. This development came after the water level there rose to 40 feet due to discharge from the Sardar Sarovar Dam, reported PTI.

#WATCH | Gujarat: Machhannala dam in Dahod overflows due to heavy rains pic.twitter.com/1xQDxd4uW5

— ANI (@ANI) September 18, 2023

12 people were rescued on Monday by the Army and local villagers at Vyas Bet of Barkal village.

#WATCH | Vadodara, Gujarat: 12 people were rescued by the Army and villagers at Vyas Bet of Barkal village after the Narmada River witnessed a rise in water level. pic.twitter.com/OX84XwDBgS

— ANI (@ANI) September 18, 2023

A number of areas in Bharuch city, tehsil, and many localities and villages in Ankleshwar are still under knee-deep water despite the water level decreasing gradually since this morning.

An official of Bharuch District Emergency Response Centre (BDERC) said that at present, the current water level of the Narmada River is 37.72 feet which is nearly 10 feet above the danger mark i.e., 28 feet, at the Golden Bridge that connects Ankleshwar to Bharuch.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that "extremely heavy rainfall" occurred at isolated places in Arvalli, Mahisagar, Panchmahal, and Sabarkantha districts during the last 24 hours ending at 8:30 this morning. The weather agency predicted that "light to moderate" rain will be observed at several places across Gujarat today and tomorrow, reported PTI.

State Emergency Operations Centre shared data as per which 29 tehsils received more than 40 mm downpour between 6 am and 2 pm on Monday. Visavadar taluka in Junagadh district witnessed around 283 mm of rainfall in the eight hours till 2 pm today.

Visavadar was followed by Mendarda taluka in Junagadh (165 mm), Radhanpur in Patan (156 mm), Bhabhar in Banaskantha (144 mm), Vanthali in Junagadh (129 mm), Deodar in Banaskantha (108 mm), Deesa in Banaskantha (91 mm), Mehsana tehsil (91 mm) and Bagsara in Amreli district (91 mm), reported PTI.