At least three persons were killed and seven went missing in Gujarat’s Morbi district on Monday as heavy rains lashed the state, The Hindu reported.
The three persons died after the tractor-trolley they were travelling on was swept away by flood water in Morbi’s Halvad taluka.
“While three persons died in rain-related incidents in the last 24 hours, the total death toll for this season stands at 99,” the newspaper quoted State Commissioner of Relief Alok Kumar Pandey as saying. “As many as 1,653 persons have been rescued so far with the help of the NDRF, SDRF and Coast Guard. Apart from this, 17,800 persons have been shifted to safer places as a precautionary measure so far.”
The India Meteorological Department on Tuesday issued a red alert warning of heavy rainfall for Gujarat’s Saurashtra region as well as the districts of Kutch, Kheda, Anand, Panchmahal, Dahod, Tapi, Navsari and Valsad till September 1.
According to the weather department’s classification, heavy rain ranges from 64.5 millimetres to 115.5 millimetres in a day. A red alert means that authorities are required to take action in view of an extreme weather event.
The heavy rains in Gujarat led to waterlogging on Tuesday in the cities of Rajkot, Vadodara and Ahmedabad, according to The Hindu.
The Ahmedabad airport urged passengers to verify flight schedules with their airlines and to allow extra time for check-in due to the heavy downpour.
The state government declared a holiday on Tuesday for all primary schools due to the heavy rain affecting the region.
The government also deployed 13 teams from the National Disaster Response Force and 22 teams from the State Disaster Response Force to deal with rain-related emergencies.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Monday conducted a review meeting at the State Emergency Operation Centre with top officials and also held a virtual conference with District Collectors, Superintendents of Police and senior civic officials from all major cities.
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