- Thursday, October 31, 2024
Seven people died due to wall collapses in different parts of Gujarat – three in Anand, two in Mahisagar district, and one each in Kheda and Ahmedabad
By: Shajil Kumar
RAIN-RELATED incidents claimed nine more lives in Gujarat, taking the death toll to 16 in two days, with rains continuing to lash some districts for the fourth consecutive day on Wednesday, officials said.
Nine people died in rain-related incidents, such as collapse of walls and drowning, in different parts of the state on Tuesday, while another 8,500 people have been relocated and rescued from flood-affected areas, an official release said. On Monday, seven persons died in similar incidents in the state, it added.
Authorities are carrying out relief and rescue operations involving the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), its state counterpart SDRF, the Army, the Indian Air Force and the Indian Coast Guard.
Three people died after a wall collapsed in Anand district on Tuesday. Two others died in Mahisagar district, and one each in Kheda and Ahmedabad districts due to wall collapse incidents. One person each drowned in Junagadh and Bharuch district, it said.
A total of 169 people, mostly from Kheda and Morbi district, were rescued on Tuesday, officials said.
Another 8,460 were evacuated and shifted to safer places, it said. These included around 3,000 from Navsari and around 1,000 each from Vadodara and Kheda.
With this, over 15,000 people have been evacuated in two days – Monday and Tuesday.
The death toll in rain-related incidents has risen to 16 in these two days, the officials said.
CM Patel said in a post on X, “Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modiji had a telephonic conversation with me about the heavy rain situation in Gujarat and got details of the relief and rescue operations.”
PM Modi provided guidance on protection of lives and livestock, and assured all necessary support and assistance from the central government, he said.
Several districts of Saurashtra region, especially Devbhumi Dwarka, Jamnagar, Porbandar and Rajkot received very heavy rainfall in 24 hours ending 6 am on Wednesday, the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) data showed.
Khambhalia taluka of Devbhumi Dwarka district alone received 454 mm rainfall, followed by Jamnagar city with 387 mm rainfall, and Jamjodhpur taluka in Jamnagar with 329 mm rainfall.
As many as 13 out of the state’s 251 talukas received over 200 mm rainfall, and another 39 over 100 mm rainfall during this period, throwing life out of gear and inundating low-lying areas.
While rains took a pause in Vadodara, flooding in Vishwamitri rivers caused several low-lying areas of the city inundated with the NDRF, SDRF and other agencies carrying out rescue and relief operations.
As many as five columns of the army were deployed in Morbi, Anand, Devbhumi Dwarka, Rajkot and Vadodara each to carry out relief and rescue operations, officials said.
As per an official release, 137 reservoirs and lakes, and 24 rivers in the state were flowing above the danger marks, causing flooding in low-lying areas.
Rains also disrupted the movement of traffic and trains as roads and railway lines were flooded. As many as eight trains, including Mumbai-bound Vande Bharat Express, were cancelled and 10 other trains partially cancelled, the Western Railway said in an update.
With the latest spell, Gujarat has so far received 105 per cent of its average annual rainfall, with Banaskantha being the most rain-deficient among all 33 districts. Banaskantha has recieved 73 per cent of average annual rainfall, the SEOC said. (PTI)
