Alok Kumar Pandey, the state’s relief commissioner, confirmed on Tuesday that the unusually heavy rain that fell in Gujarat on Sunday night, along with hailstorms and lightning, resulted in nine fatalities.
Districts in Patan, Kheda, Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, Banaskantha, Chhota Udepur, and Botad reported the deaths. According to Pandey, sources, lightning and heavy rain were the main causes of these fatalities.
Pandey’s remarks came even as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a wind warning that strong surface winds of 30-40 kmph were very likely to prevail over Saurashtra and Kutch on Tuesday. The IMD also forecast “light thunderstorm with lightning and surface wind 30- 40 kmph (in gust) accompanied with light to moderate rain in the districts of North Gujarat region namely Ahmedabad, Aravalli, Banaskantha, Dahod, Gandhinagar, Kheda, Mahisagar, Mehsana, Panchmahal, Patan and Sabarkantha; [and] in the districts of Saurashtra-Kutch namely Amreli, Bhavnagar and Kutch”.
Gujarat experienced rain on Sunday, with the majority of it falling in the districts of Mehsana, Banaskantha, Ahmedabad, Patan, Gandhinagar, Sabarkantha, Bhavnagar, Kheda, Anand, Narmada, and Aravalli. The highest rainfall was recorded in Becharaji in Mehsana at 65 mm, followed by Danta in Banaskantha at 55 mm, Ahmedabad City at 54 mm, Vadgam in Banaskantha at 52 mm, and Chansama in Patan at 50 mm.
The rains in Ahmedabad on Sunday left 256 areas waterlogged as civic authorities were pressed into action Monday morning at Valinath Chowk, Passport Office in Gulbai Tekra, Ranip and Viratngar, four areas that witnessed major cave-ins. Certain parts of Ahmedabad remained waterlogged until Monday morning.
In the 24-hour period till Tuesday 6 am, Anjar in Kutch recorded the highest rainfall of 41 mm followed by Palitana in Bhavnagar and Dhoraji in Rajkot with 35 mm rainfall each.