Heavy rains batter south Guj; Valsad gets 203mm in 10 hours

Heavy rains Sunday battered parts of south Gujarat, with authorities keeping rescue teams in Valsad on stand-by due to rise in river levels and water- logging in many areas, officials said.

Valsad received 203 millimetres rainfall in ten hours since Sunday morning, leaving several areas flooded, while nearby Vapi in the district received 228 mm rainfall during this period.

Auranga and Par rivers flowing through the district swelled due to heavy rains though they were still below the danger mark, said Valsad Collector CR Kharsan, adding that a team of the NDRF and personnel from the fire brigade have been kept on stand-by.

The national highway connecting Mumbai to Surat was under water on some stretches, causing traffic snarls.

Apart from Vapi, areas like Kaprada and Pardi in Valsad district, Khergam in Navsari and Mangrol in Surat district also received heavy rainfall, an official said.

While Khergam taluka in Navsari received 126 mm rainfall from 6 am till 2 pm Sunday, Mangrol in Surat received 70 mm rainfall, as per data provided by State Emergency Operation Centre.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said some areas of south Gujarat namely Navsari, Valsad, Narmada, Tapi and Surat among others received "extremely heavy" as well as "heavy to very heavy" rainfall in the last 24 hours.

The IMD warned of heavy to very heavy rainfall in isolated places in south Gujarat till Monday and advised fishermen to not venture into the sea for the next 24 hours.

Most places of south Gujarat received rainfall due to active monsoon conditions, with Saturday's "upper air cyclonic circulation" over south Gujarat and neighbouring areas persisting in the region, the IMD said in a weather bulletin.

"Due to active monsoon conditions, squally weather is very likely to prevail along and off south Gujarat coast during next 48 hours. The sea will be rough with waves from south-westerly to westerly direction for next 24 hours," the IMD said.

It also warned of heavy to very heavy rains at isolated places in the districts of south Gujarat region namely Valsad, Navsari, Dang, Daman, Dadra and Nagar Haveli till Monday.