Several hundred people were shifted to safety in Valsad and Navsari districts as heavy rains lashed south Gujarat on Saturday and Sunday, officials said.
Incessant rains in the past 48 hours have inundated low-lying areas, disrupting normal life and traffic movement, they added.As per data from the State Emergency Operation Centre, Vapi taluka in Valsad district received 326 millimetres of rainfall in a 24-hour period till 6 am on Sunday, the highest in the state, while Khergam in Navsari got 248 mm since 6 am. Districts like Surat, Tapi and Narmada have also been severely affected due to heavy rains, officials said.More than 600 persons living in low-lying areas in Valsad were relocated to safety due to heavy rains, they added. “A total of 17 persons were shifted in Bilimora city after flooding in low-lying areas. The administration is also keeping a close watch on rising water levels of Purna and Kaveri rivers,” said AM Gamit, Executive Magistrate (Disaster), Navsari.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel spoke to collectors and asked them to take all steps to give relief to people, including timely evacuation, as well as ensure safety of livestock. The CM said the State and National Disaster Response Forces (SDRF and NDRF) teams were deployed and available for required assistance.Amid rainfall in catchment areas, the water level of Sardar Sarovar Narmada dam rose sharply and stood at 135.30 metres on Sunday, just a few metres below its full-reservoir capacity of 138.68 metres, officials said.
As per SSNNL officials, the dam reservoir was receiving 2,65,748 cusecs water from upstream, and 15 radial gates of the dam were opened for discharge. “While 1,75,000 cusecs water was flowing out through the gates, 36,975 cusecs water was being released into the river from the riverbed powerhouse and 23,081 cusecs from canal head powerhouse,” an SSNNL official said.The state’s 206 reservoirs had 3.64 lakh million cubic feet of water as on Sunday, which is 65 percent of their total storage capacity, officials said. Out of these 206 reservoirs, 72 were put on high alert, and 15 on alert due to sharp rise in their water level, they added.The state has received 81.81 per cent of average annual rainfall so far this season, with south Gujarat receiving 97.52 per cent, Kutch 90.18 per cent and Saurashtra 84.92 per cent. As per SEOC data, Gujarat’s north and east central regions have received low rainfall compared to the southern part and Saurashtra-Kutch.
North Gujarat has so far received 64.91 per cent of average annual rainfall, while east-central Gujarat has received 68.84 per cent, the SEOC data showed. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast of ‘heavy to very heavy’ rain at a few places with isolated ‘extremely heavy’ rain in south Gujarat districts, including Vadodara, Surat, Bharuch, Navsari, Valsad, and in Amreli and Bhavnagar in Saurashtra region till Tuesday morning.The IMD also forecast ‘heavy to very heavy’ rain with isolated ‘extremely heavy’ rain in Anand, Rajkot, Jamnagar, Porbandar, Morbi, Dwarka and Kutch districts on Tuesday.