Ahmedabad: Heavy rains since Friday night created a flood-like situation in several parts of the state on Saturday, leaving three persons dead, the state government said.
Surendranagar, Rajkot and Morbi districts in Saurashtra region were the worst affected by the heavy rains and the IAF, and the NDRF along with district authorities conducted massive relief and rescue operations at different places.
The National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) and the Indian Air Force (IAF) rescued several people from these areas and relocated them to safer locations.
Rail and road traffic in Saurashtra region were disrupted as over a dozen state highways were affected and several trains cancelled due to waterlogging in Maliya Miyana town of Morbi district which threw normal life out of gear.
As many as 214 people, who were stranded at different places in these affected districts, were rescued.
Morbi district disaster relief team officials said Maliya Miyana village was flooded after water was released from Machhu 2 and 3 dams and around 50 persons were rescued.
Ten gates of Machhu-2 and 14 gates of Machhu-3 dams were opened, leading to release of 55,000 cusecs and 59,000 cusecs of water respectively, they said.
"Two hundred people were rescued from different parts of the district by NDRF, IAF and fire brigade teams," Morbi District Collector I K Patel said.
Three persons died after being swept away by water at Jasdan taluka in Rajkot, Lathi in Amreli, and Junagadh, a state emergency operations centre official said.
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, who headed a disaster review meeting today, told reporters that Surendranagar, Rajkot, Morbi, Amreli, Junagadh, Gir Somnath districts in Saurashtra received heavy rainfall.
As many as 65 roads and 10 state highways were damaged due to the rains, he said.
"NDRF, IAF and state rescue teams have so far rescued 214 people, stranded at different places," Rupani said, adding that 6,235 people have been shifted at safer places from low lying areas near rivers and dams.
According to Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) Commissioner BN Pani, a two-storey building in Hathikhana area of the city collapsed but there was no casualty.
"The city has received over 72 mm rain and water in the Lalpari reservoir has overflown. Nearly 60 people living in the nearby areas have been shifted to safer places," Pani said.
Surendranagar is the worst affected district in the Saurashtra region as over 350 mm rainfall was recorded in the temple town of Chotila.
The Indian Air Force, in a release, said four MI-17V5 helicopters were deployed for rescue and relief operation in different areas of Surendranagar and Morbi districts.
"In all, four IAF helicopters were today engaged in rescue and relief work. More requests have been received from the civil administration as reports last came in with three aircraft currently engaged in ongoing missions at various locations," it said.
The NDRF said its teams carried out rescue operations in Limdi and Chotila talukas of Surendranagar district, where five persons were evacuated to safer places, six persons were shifted to safety in Rajkot, and 15 in Amreli.
State transport authorities said buses services have been temporarily discontinued on 17 routes due to waterlogging.
Train services in Samkhiyali, Maliya Miyan, Wankaner, Surendranagar and Viramgam were also suspended due to waterlogging on the route.
During the day, Deodar in Banaskantha received 204 mm of rains, followed by Kalol in Gandhinagar 181 mm and Bhabhar in Banaskantha 105 mm.
Ahmedabad city received over 100 mm of rain which led to waterlogging in several underpasses and roads.
According to IMD official Manorama Mohanty, Gujarat is likely to get light to moderate rains in the next four days while heavy to very heavy rainfall has been predicted in isolated areas.
The intensity of rains in Saurashtra region will decrease, she said, adding, "Port warning has been issued for Gujarat coast. Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the waters."
