Tapi river in full spate after water was released from the Ukai Dam following heavy rains, in Surat, on August 26, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Exceptionally heavy rains across Gujarat led to severe water logging in the cities like Rajkot, Vadodara and Ahmedabad, on Tuesday (August 27,2024).
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had issued a ‘red alert’ warning for several districts in Gujarat and it had also forecasted heavy to very heavy rainfall over the few days.
The districts under IMD’s red alert are entire Saurashtra region, Kutch, Kheda, Anand, Panchmahal, Dahod, Tapi, Navsari and Valsad.
At least three persons were killed and seven went missing after their tractor-trailer was swept away in floodwaters amid heavy rain in Gujarat on Monday (August 26, 2024). The incessant rainfall inundated low-lying areas in over a dozen districts while officials shifted over 18,000 people to safety.
The administration geared up for battling extreme weather with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicting heavy rainfall in the State for the next three days. It announced a holiday for all primary schools in the State for Tuesday and asked people to not venture out.
Officials said 13 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and 22 teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) were deployed across the State to deal with potential flooding and disaster-like situations.
The NDRF teams have been positioned in Gandhinagar, Vadodara, Amreli, Banaskantha, Bhavnagar, Dwarka, Gir Somnath, Junagadh, Kutch, Morbi, Narmada, Navsari, Surat, Surendranagar, and Valsad to tackle all sorts of emergencies, they said.
On Monday (August 26, 2024), Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel held a review meeting at the State Emergency Operation Centre with top officials, and also held a virtual meeting with District Collectors, Superintendents of Police, and senior civic officials of all major cities.
