Rain pounds Gujarat; 20,000 evacuated

Heavy but intermittent rain continued to lash Ahmedabad on Tuesday. Heavy rain was also reported from the new west zone late in the evening. There was waterlogging and heavy traffic jam at several places, although no underpasses in the city were closed.

Meanwhile, mercury level dipped 5 degrees below normal with the city recording a maximum temperature of 30.4 degree Celsius. “I don’t think we have ever experienced such heavy rainfall at the end of monsoon. While the drop in temperature is welcome, the waterlogging and traffic jams are not,” said Mihir Kamat, a resident of Vejalpur. The Met department has predicted intermittent rain for the city on Wednesday as well with a possibility of heavy rain.

Across the state, 207 talukas in 31 districts received rain.

Bharuch, Vadodara, Navsari and Surat were among the worst affected. In Vadodara, the city alone received 232 mm of rainfall resulting in heavy waterlogging. Karjan taluka in the district recorded 302 mm of rainfall. With water level rising in Vishwamitri river, there were fears about crocodiles in the river entering the city.

Neil Emmanuel, a student, said he had gone to the river to see the rising water. “It was alarming. Schools and colleges have been shut down due to the incessant rains,” said Emanuel. H Tapadia, chief fire officer, Fire and Emergency department, Vadodara Municipal Corporation said that the water level in the river was at 26 feet which was alarming.

“As many as 2,250 people have been evacuated in the city, particularly those living near Vishwamitri. Sixteen boats and a team of 165 firemen are being put on standby to deal with any untoward incident,” he said. In all, close to 20,000 people from 50 villages in five talukas of the state were moved to safer locations.

The Met department has predicted moderate to heavy rainfall for almost all districts of the state.