Rains Claim 26 Lives In Gujarat; 17800 Evacuated

New Delhi: Gujarat has been facing massive rainfall over the past few days which has claimed the lives of 26 in the last three days, while around 17,800 people were evacuated from flood-affected areas as heavy rain continued to batter the state for the fourth day in a row, officials said.

Out of the 26 deaths, 19 occurred recently. Among the deceased include seven persons who went missing after the tractor trolley they were travelling in was swept away while crossing an overflowing causeway on Sunday near Dhavana village under Halvad taluka of Morbi district, a police official said, PTI reported.

 

 

Despite a temporary pause in rainfall, Vadodara struggled with severe flooding in extensive low-lying areas after the Vishwamitri River, which runs through the city, overflowed its banks and inundated residential neighbourhoods, flooding buildings, roads, and vehicles.

Amidst the flood-like situation prevailing in many parts of Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a telephone conversation with Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Wednesday to take stock of the situation and assured the Centre’s support to the state in tackling the ongoing natural disaster.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted extremely heavy rains in isolated parts of districts in Saurashtra on Thursday.

 

Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the state’s SDRF, and three Army units rescued people stranded in their homes and on rooftops in Vadodara city, relocating them to safer areas, officials said.