Two national highways closed in Gujarat's Junagadh due to heavy rainfall

Two national highways in Junagadh have been closed following heavy rainfall in various parts of Gujarat.

Visuals show the highways flooded with rainwater. Waterlogging was reported on the highways following heavy rainfall.

Deputy Collector, JP Zala said that alerts have been issued and waterlogged roads have been closed.

"Three straight highways in Junagadh have been closed. 6 major district connecting roads have also been closed. Once the water level goes down, the situation will be under control. We have issued an alert for low-lying areas, and waterlogged ways have been closed," he said.

Earlier, a massive sinkhole, resembling a crater created by a meteor strike, was formed when a portion of a road caved in during heavy rainfall at Shela in Ahmedabad Smart City.

A visual surfaced on social media that shows the middle of the road caving in the water flowing into the large cavity.

Recent satellite imagery indicates the presence of convective clouds, indicating the possibility of light to moderate rainfall at many locations.

In its weather bulletin on June 30, the weather department forecasted rainfall in all parts of Gujarat for the next five days and sounded an orange alert for five districts of the state on Sunday.

Speaking to ANI, IMD Scientist Pradeep Sharma said, "There will be rains in all parts of Gujarat in the next 5 days. A warning for very heavy rain is issued for Saurashtra and Kutch for today. An orange alert has been issued for Bharuch, Surat, Navsari, Valsad and Dadra Nagar Haveli."

Earlier on Saturday, part of the canopy collapsed at the passenger pickup and drop-off area of Rajkot airport.

According to Ministry of Civil Aviation sources, the canopy broke during maintenance work to push out water accumulated in the canopy. No one was injured in the incident, and a detailed report has been sought. Repair work is underway.

In a post on X, Rajkot airport authorities said that water accumulation was observed on the city side of the canopy at the terminal building at 11:40 am due to heavy rains.

"As we came to know about it, we informed the civil works department and the area beneath was cordoned off," said Rajkot International Airport in the post.

The international airport is located at Hirasar, about 30 km from Rajkot city.

IMD on Sunday also issued an alert for widespread rainfall and thunderstorms across several regions across India.

Intense spells of rain, accompanied by isolated thunderstorms, cloud-to-ground lightning, and gusty winds, are expected in Punjab and adjoining Himachal Pradesh, southwest and adjoining extreme northwest Madhya Pradesh, east Uttar Pradesh and adjoining extreme north Chhattisgarh, southeast Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, south Gujarat, south Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, south Karnataka, north Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, and Meghalaya, as per the IMD.

In addition to these areas, light to moderate rainfall is anticipated at a few places, with isolated thunderstorms, cloud-to-ground lightning, and gusty winds likely to affect Odisha, Konkan, Goa, south Madhya Maharashtra, Kerala, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Lakshadweep, and the Nicobar Islands.