Heavy to very heavy rains lashed several districts in Gujarat’s south and Saurashtra regions on Saturday, resulting in a flood-like situation in urban areas. In Junagadh city, numerous parked cars and cattle were swept away by gushing waters during the heavy rainfall. The city received an astounding 241 mm of rainfall in just 12 hours until 8 pm on Saturday.
According to the Gujarat government, low-lying areas in Junagadh district were flooded due to the incessant rains, prompting the evacuation of at least 250 people to safer places through a rescue operation on Saturday. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel curtailed his official engagements in Rajkot and immediately visited the district collector’s office to assess the situation in Junagadh.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams were swiftly deployed in Junagadh to conduct rescue operations.
Amid the torrential downpour, people were seen wading through waist-deep water to seek safer locations. Some individuals were fortunately rescued by volunteers as they were swept away by strong currents.
In Dadra and Nagar Haveli district, which borders Gujarat, a father-son duo drowned after their car was washed away near Silvassa town on Friday night while attempting to cross a low-lying bridge in fast-moving waters.
In Navsari city, a man and his son were swept away in a swollen drain. While the man was successfully rescued, efforts were underway to locate the missing son, according to officials.
Over 200 mm of rainfall within a few hours on Saturday morning overwhelmed the drainage system in Navsari city, leading to water spilling onto roads and low-lying areas, causing extensive traffic congestion.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall, with isolated extremely heavy rainfall expected in south Gujarat and Saurashtra-Kutch districts until Sunday morning. The forecast predicts continuous heavy to very heavy rainfall in many other districts of south Gujarat and Saurashtra-Kutch during the next three days.
A red alert has been issued for several districts, including Junagadh, Jamnagar, Devbhumi Dwarka, Kutch, Surat, Valsad, Navsari, and Surat.
The Met department has also cautioned fishermen not to venture along and off the north Gujarat coast from July 22 to July 26 due to expected squally weather conditions during this period.