Several districts of Gujarat are battling severe waterlogging and a flood-like situation after heavy rainfall on Tuesday. The districts of Rajkot, Surat and Gir Somnath are among the worst affected. Visuals of flooded roads and submerged vehicles surfaced on social media, drawing a grim picture of the situation. Around 70 people have so far been shifted to safer places.
Sutrapada taluka in Gir Somnath district received 345 mm rainfall, the highest in the state, in just 14 hours since 6 am on Tuesday, the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) said.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall in isolated areas in the state, especially in some districts of Saurashtra and south Gujarat regions, during the next few days.
The state administration reviewed the preparedness to deal with the situation arising out of heavy showers and the overall monsoon condition in Gujarat, news agency PTI reported.
Dhoraji taluka of Rajkot district received around 250 mm rainfall during the 14 hours since 6 am with 145 mm showers recorded in just two hours, SEOC told PTI.
The centre said Surat was also lashed with downpours with around 104 mm showers recorded during the day, disrupting normal life in the south Gujarat city. Parts of Junagadh district, too, experienced torrential rains.
The state government said heavy rainfall is likely to occur in the Amreli and Bhavnagar districts of the Saurashtra region and Valsad district of south Gujarat between July 19-21 and necessary instructions have been given to the local administration to deal with the situation.
Out of Gujarat's 206 reservoirs, 43 have been placed on high alert due to heavy inflow of water. Eighteen reservoirs are on an alert mode and warnings have been issued for another 19, the government said in a release.
Widespread rainfall has spurred the sowing of kharif crops with 71.31 per cent f the total cultivated area planted so far this season, the release said.
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Forces (SDRF) teams have been put on alert given the rain situation, it said.
The state has already received around 56 per cent of the average rainfall so far this monsoon season.