Torrential rains continue to wreak havoc in south Gujarat

Five trains cancelled, road traffic disrupted in many parts of state

As many as five persons have died and over 41,000 people shifted to safer places following heavy rainfall in from districts of Vadodara, Bharuch, Surat and Navsari over the past four days, state government officials said on Wednesday. Railway and road traffic have been heavily affected due to the incessant down pour since Saturday last.

The situation in Vadodara district worsened on Wednesday as the Army has been put on stand by by the administration.

"As many as 1,000 lives were saved by the National Disaster Rescue Force (NDRF) team last night, while nearly 25,000 were evacuated from low-lying areas in different parts of district," Vadodara district collector Vinod Rao said.

He further said that the Army has been put on stand-by and the administration has requested more boats from them as the Vishwamitri river was flowing above danger level, mainly due to heavy rainfall in catchment area. "We have also requested for helicopter to distribute food packets in remote areas," Rao said. But, due to bad weather the permission was awaited, he added.

According to Rao, Karjan, Vadodara rural and Padra were the three worst affected block of the district. Two NDRF team with 40 personnel each are involved in rescue operations across the district.

The Gujarat government has formed a team headed by finance secretary L Chuaungo to asses the damage to crop, cattle and property due to the floods in south Gujarat region. The team is expected to visit Vadodara and near by areas on September 26.

Ahmedabad city too woke up to heavy downpour early today morning. It recorded an average of 100mm rain in just four hours (6am to 10 am). Waterlogging in many parts of the city had put normal life in a disarray. Schools and colleges in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat and Bharuch have been asked to remain shut and the exams scheduled for Wednesday have been postponed. State Emergency Operation Centre in Gandhinagar said that as many as 41,634 people have been evacuated in four districts of Vadodara, Bharuch, Surat and Navsari. They further said that five deaths have been reported during September 22-25 due to rain related causes.

These deaths have been reported one each from district of Chhota Udaepur, Bhavnagar, Sabarkantha, Surat and Junagadh.

Meanwhile, situation in Bharuch remained stable as the water started to recede in Narmada river. "Though Narmada was flowing above danger level, the water level is expected to go below danger mark by tomorrow evening," said Bharuch collector Avantika Singh Aulakh. She said that three team of NDRF and some teams of fire officials from Ahmedabad and Rajkot are engaged in rescue operations in the district. Over 13,600 people have been evacuated from low-lying areas and shifted to safer locations till date.

The Sardar Srovar Dam on Narmada river was overflowing as the water level had reached 124.86 m against the crest level of 121.92 m.

According to railway officials five trains between Vadodara and Surat have been cancelled for today as railway tracks have been submerged under water following heavy rain in since last night.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast moderate to heavy rainfall in all part of state in the next 24 hours, as an upper cyclonic circulation lies over Gujarat region.

Due to this condition the monsoon would remain vigorous over Gujarat.

The trains cancelled include Karnavati Express (Ahmedabad-Mumbai), Surat-Mahuva Express, Mahuva-Surat Express, Guajrat Queen (Valsad-Ahmedabad) and Ahmedabad-Mumbai Double decker. They said that trains services will resume as soon as the water recedes from tracks.

In the last 24 hours average rainfall recorded in Gujarat was 50 mm covering 219 talukas of 33 districts in the state. The highest rainfall was recorded in Umarpada (366 mm) block of Surat district. Other blocks which received heavy rainfall in the last 24 hours include Bardoli (260mm), Choryasi (229mm), Palsana (219mm), Jalalpore (196mm), Navsari (194mm), Nandod (165mm), Tilakwada (159mm), Kaprada (156mm), Sagbara (153mm), Jambusar (154mm) and Bharuch (142mm).