Rain claimed 49 lives in Gujarat in a week

Ahmedabad: Heavy downpours in Gujarat in the last week of August claimed 49 lives, damaged roads and caused floods, prompting the rescue of over 37,000 people by multiple agencies including the NDRF and Army, officials said on Wednesday.

A deep depression triggered heavy to very heavy rainfall in several areas of Gujarat between August 25 and 30. The depression, formed over the Gujarat-Rajasthan border, gradually moved into the Arabian Sea (which later turned into cyclonic storm Asna), said State Relief Commissioner Alok Kumar Pandey.

During this period, 49 persons died in rain-related incidents, such as lightning strikes, wall collapse and drowning in flood waters, he told reporters at Gandhinagar-based State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC). “Among the 49 deaths, the kin of 22 have already been paid Rs 4 lakh each as compensation as per norms. A sum of Rs 1.78 crore has been disbursed to the owners of 2,618 livestock that perished,” Pandey said, adding that Gujarat so far received 108 per cent of its average annual rainfall.

In the wake of the heavy rainfall, 17 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), 27 from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), nine columns from the Army, and additional teams of the IAF and the Coast Guard were deployed, the state relief commissioner added.

“These teams have successfully rescued 37,050 people and relocated 42,083 others to safer locations. Additionally, 53 people have been airlifted to safety,” said Pandey. He said surveys are being conducted in rain-affected districts to assess the damage caused to temporary as well as permanent houses.

Pandey said heavy rains damaged roads measuring 2,230 kilometres, which will be repaired and made motorable in the 10 days.