Rains lash Rajkot, Jamnagar, Junagadh districts of Gujarat

Ahmedabad: Heavy rains in Rajkot and Jamnagar districts of Gujarat have led to evacuation of over 7,000 people, officials said on Tuesday evening. Rains also lashed Junagadh district during the day, they said. Newly sworn-in Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Tuesday visited rain-hit parts of Jamnagar city and district and assured help to those affected by the floods.

Earlier in the morning, officials said that a national highway passing through Jamnagar and 18 state highways passing through Rajkot, Jamnagar and Junagadh districts of the Saurashtra region were closed due to flooding. Many villages were cut off from other parts of the state as roads were inundated.

A bridge over the river Fofal collapsed, forcing the closure of a road connecting Jam Kandorna and Gondal in Rajkot district, officials said.

After pounding Rajkot and Jamnagar districts for 24 hours since Monday morning, the rains eased a bit on Tuesday, while heavy showers were reported in Junagadh district during the day.

The Indian Air Force (IAF), Navy and Coast Guard were called in to help in the rescue operations along with teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), officials said. Meanwhile, with heavy rain pounding Odisha for the last 36 hours leading to a rise in water levels in most rivers, the state government on Tuesday asked all the district collectors to evacuate people from low-lying areas as three persons were killed in incidents related to the downpour, officials said.

As many as 17 areas in the state received more than 200 mm rainfall each in the last 24 hours till 8.30 AM on Tuesday, the India Meteorological Centre said.

While two locations received more than 300 mm of rain -- Talcher (394 mm) and Birmaharajpur (372 mm) 15 other stations received downpour of 200-300 mm.

Furthermore, incessant rains in several parts of Chhattisgarh, including capital Raipur and Gariaband, over the past couple of days have prompted the state government to ask district authorities to be on high alert to deal with a possible flood-like situation, officials said on Tuesday.

Collectors of Raipur, Dhamtari, Gariaband and Mahasamund districts, which have witnessed heavy rainfall since Monday, have been directed to monitor the situation, take precautions and

submit reports on rain-induced losses, state Revenue and Disaster Management department secretary Rita

Shandilya said.