Heavy rains batter Guj, 8 killed

Ahmedabad: Eight people lost their lives, and over 800 were evacuated as torrential downpours led to swollen rivers and overflowing dams, cutting off several villages and inundating low-lying areas across Gujarat on Wednesday. Officials reported that heavy rains significantly disrupted normal life, particularly in the southern districts of Vadodara, Surat, Bharuch, and Anand, prompting school and college closures in several regions.

Train services were also impacted. State Commissioner of Relief, Alok Kumar Pandey, stated: “Eight people have died due to heavy rains in the last 24 hours. We have relocated 826 individuals to safer places. Twenty SDRF teams and 11 NDRF teams are deployed in the affected districts.”

With a ‘red alert’ issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) for extremely heavy showers in several districts, control rooms are operating around the clock to monitor the situation and assist those stranded. Pandey mentioned that all 206 major dams in the state are receiving fresh inflows, with the Sardar Sarovar Dam, the largest in Gujarat, now at 54 per cent capacity.

In response to the flooding, the administrations in Vadodara, Surat, Bharuch, and Anand deployed NDRF and SDRF personnel along with local fire brigade teams to rescue individuals from flooded areas and relocate them. Borsad taluka in Anand district recorded 354 mm of rainfall in 12 hours, leading to significant evacuations. Other areas severely affected include Tilakwada in Narmada district (213 mm), Padra in Vadodara (199 mm), Vadodara taluka (198 mm), Bharuch taluka (185 mm), Nasvadi in Chhotaudepur (156 mm), and Nandod in Narmada district (143 mm). Anand Collector Praveen Chaudhary confirmed NDRF teams were deployed for rescue operations.