Heavy rains in many districts of Gujarat; 40 people rescued, 5 missing

The monsoons are raging torrentially all across the country. Heavy rain has been experienced at various places in Gujarat over the last 24 hours, and regular life has been disrupted. In the Botad district, 40 villagers were shifted to a safe location. Five people in a car went missing after a river burst its banks and swept away the car.

Officials said that Bhavnagar is also one of the worst affected districts. He said that more rain is likely in some parts of the state in the next four days. Officials said that due to heavy rains, low-lying areas were waterlogged and some roads and bridges had to be closed for traffic.

Botad District Collector Jinsi Roy added, 40 individuals residing in low-lying zones of Barwala taluka have been relocated to safe zones as a precautionary measure since water has overflowed the adjacent dam. The order issued by the Botad District Education Officer added that all government and private schools within the district would be shut on Wednesday, amidst the prevailing situation.

Roy also said search operations were launched to trace five individuals who were missing since a car was swept away at a flooded river at Lathidad village amidst torrential downpour. He also said that at the time of the mishap, a total of nine passengers were on board the car, of whom two were rescued on the spot by the locals while seven went missing. The bodies of two passengers have so far been traced, and a search has been launched to trace another five. We have sought the help of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to join the rescue effort.

According to him, at least a dozen people are stranded due to waterlogging in a village in Gadhada taluka, and efforts are on to rescue them too. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that in the last 24 hours, Botad, Bhavnagar, and Amreli districts received torrential rains at isolated places, while heavy rains in other districts like Surendranagar, Rajkot, Morbi, Ahmedabad, Anand, Bharuch, and Surat have also disrupted life.

The southwest monsoon has advanced into some more parts of the North Arabian Sea and Gujarat, and more rain is expected in the coming days due to the low-pressure area and associated upper air cyclonic circulation formed over the Gujarat region and adjoining areas, the IMD said. The Meteorological Department said that torrential rains are likely in many parts of Gujarat, including Dahod, Valsad, Porbandar, Junagadh, Bhavnagar, Gir Somnath, Surat, Navsari, Bharuch, and Dang during the next four days.

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said on Monday night that in view of heavy rains in various districts, district magistrates have been instructed to take necessary steps to protect the lives and property of citizens. According to data shared by the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC), Barwala taluka of Botad district received 178 mm of rain during the last 12 hours ending at 6 pm on Tuesday, the highest in Gujarat. According to a release issued by the NDRF, it has deployed one team each in Kutch, Bhavnaga,r and Botad districts for rescue operations.