At least 16 people died and 20

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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

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)