Rain fury claims 16 lives in WB; paralyses Guj, Odisha

At least 16 people died and 20 lakh were affected due to torrential rains in West Bengal even as Gujarat grappled with the downpour-induced situation, while Odisha issued a flood alert for four districts.
Incessant rains in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar paralysed normal life and threw traffic on major roads into chaos.
Chandigarh gauged a massive 120.8 mm of rainfall, the highest in the last 10 years. The record-breaking downpour led to water-logging in several areas of the city.
Rescue teams, including personnel of the NDRF and state administration, are engaged in flood relief and rescue operation in West Bengal, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Odisha.

The weatherman has warned of "extremely heavy rain" at several places in eastern Rajasthan, which is reeling under floods, tomorrow.
The MeT office said heavy rains are very likely over Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat and Goa.

An official of the West Bengal Disaster Management Department said: "16 people have died so far and 20 lakh are affected due to floods since July 21. Nearly 165 villages are under water."
The last 24 hours were the worst as over four lakh people were hit in this period alone. 2,301 people were moved to safer places and 2,02,957 hectares of agricultural land was submerged, the official said.

Around 7,868 houses were entirely destroyed while 44,361 were partially damaged, he said.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who took stock of the situation in Amta and Udaynaryanpur blocks of Howrah district, said the flood-like situation was because of the water released by the Damodar Valley Corporation.
The Odisha government issued a flood alert for Dhenkanal, Jajpur, Kendrapara and Balasore districts as the water level in the Subarnarekha river surged.
The collectors of the districts have been instructed to deploy teams of the Orissa Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and fire services.
The Subarnarekha river is flowing above the danger level mark at Rajghat.

Flood waters inundated lowlands in Rourkela and Sundergarh in the western region of the state.
Heavy rains hit normal life in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar, while 10,000 people from rural and urban areas here were shifted to safer places after the Sabarmati river swelled.
Officials said the number of people who have lost their lives due to downpours in the state stood at 123 till yesterday.
In the last 24 hours, Ahmedabad alone received 200 mm of rainfall, according to official figures.
The Kalol tehsil in Gandhinagar received 370 mm of precipitation, including 240 mm between 8 am and 12 noon today, according to the data.

The district administration has ordered closure of schools and colleges. Many private offices and shops did not open up till late in the afternoon due to heavy rains.
Following the release of water from the Dharoi dam into the Sabarmati river, teams of the district administration and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) shifted around 10,000 people, including nearly 2,500 from 11 locations within the city, during the morning hours, collector Avantika Singh said.
Portions of at least 20 buildings collapsed fue to heavy rains and water-logging. Three persons were injured when a building crumbled in Gaekwad Haveli locality in early hours today, Ahmedabad Chief Fire Officer M Dastoor said.

The Ahmedabad airport runway was partly flooded due to heavy rains, though it did not affect the air traffic, its director Manoj Gangal said.
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani toured the affected areas in a boat to take stock of the situation.
It poured down in torrents in Chandigarh, which guaged 120.8 mm of rainfall, the highest in the last 10 years.
"Chandigarh had on July 26, 2006 received 142 mm of rainfall. 262 mm of precipitation, the all-time heaviest in 24 hours, was recorded on July 18, 2000," a MeT Department official told PTI.
Downpours also lashed Mohali, Patiala and Fatehgarh Sahib in Punjab, and Panchkula and Ambala in Haryana.

Relief teams have been deployed in the Hadoti region of Rajasthan in view of a prediction of a downpour in Jhalawar, Kota and Baran districts.
The flood-like situation in Jalore, Sirohi and Pali districts was improving, officials said.
At least 648 people have been rescued from flood-affected areas in the state, Secretary, State Disaster Relief and Management, Hemant Gera said.
He said 22 rain-related deaths have been reported in the state since June 1.