Nine killed, over 3,500 evacuated as record rainfall floods Gujarat’s Surat

AT to the lowest degree 9 people died and thomas more than 3,500 others were evacuated after register rainfall triggered widespread flooding crosswise Gujarat’s Surat district over the past two days, officials said on Wednesday.Surat city received 358 mm (14.09 inches) of rainfall between 6 am on Tuesday and 6 am on Wednesday.Surat Collector Tejash Parmar said the nine deaths across the district were caused by rain-related incidents such as electrocution, drowning, lightning strikes and falling trees.The state has deployed 12 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams and 27 State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) platoons, with Surat having the highest deployment of two NDRF teams and five SDRF platoons.According to officials at the State Emergency Operation Centre, Surat accounted for the largest rescue and evacuation operation in Gujarat. Across the state, 7,522 people were shifted to safer places and 3,711 were rescued. Navsari recorded 2,113 evacuations and 120 rescues, followed by Amreli with 641 evacuations and 116 rescues, Gir Somnath with 480 evacuations and 12 rescues, Junagadh with 297 evacuations and three rescues, Anand with 60 evacuations, Bhavnagar with 50 evacuations, while Dang recorded 41 rescues. Porbandar, Tapi and Valsad reported one rescue each.The heavy rain brought Surat to a standstill on Tuesday, inundating roads, residential areas and commercial establishments, disrupting public transport and forcing the closure of schools and colleges. Floodwaters entered several low-lying localities, while rescue teams used boats and tractors to evacuate stranded residents. Palsana recorded 462 mm of rain in the 24 hours ending Wednesday morning, Kamrej received 442 mm, Surat city 358 mm, Bardoli 191 mm, Mahuva 199 mm, Ambika 173 mm and Umarpada 20 mm, while Navsari taluka received 195 mm, highlighting the intensity of the downpour across south Gujarat.Rainfall activity eased across Gujarat on Wednesday. Between 6 am and 8 pm, only light rainfall was recorded across the state, with Nanapondha in Valsad receiving the highest rainfall at 38 mm, followed by Kaprada with 34 mm, The Dangs with 24 mm, Vansada in Navsari with 20 mm, Umarpada in Surat with 16 mm, Dharampur in Valsad with 15 mm, and Dediapada in Narmada, Netrang in Bharuch and Subir in Dang with 14 mm each.The State Emergency Operation Centre said Gujarat has received 222.10 mm of seasonal rainfall, equivalent to 24.44% of the long-period average. South Gujarat has received the highest regional rainfall at 526.25 mm, or 34.13% of its seasonal average, followed by Saurashtra with 210.31 mm.As of Wednesday evening, the Sardar Sarovar reservoir was 65.54% full, while the state’s other 206 reservoirs were at 41.17% of their gross storage capacity. Eleven reservoirs were under high alert, three under alert and 11 under warning.