Gujarat rains: 1,500 evacuated in Surat as IMD issues red alert for 13 districts

Several districts in central and south Gujarat received heavy rainfall on Friday with over 1500 persons evacuated to safer places in Surat which is the worstaffected officials saidAccording to PTI a red alert indicating extremely heavy rainfall has been declared in 13 districts while an orange alert indicating heavy rainfall has been declared in 7 districts following the latest forecast of the India Meteorological Department the weather forecasting agency saidRelief Commissioner Gaurang Makwana while briefing about the current situation said ldquoSignificant rainfall has been recorded in Narmada Anand Kheda Chhota Udepur Vadodara and Surat among other districts and the situation is being continuously monitored as cited by PTIMany talukas in Surat Kheda Anand Bharuch and Narmada received over 150 mm of rainfall in 8 hours between 6 am and 2 pm on Friday according to State Emergency Operation Center dataSurat remains the worsthit districtSurat Municipal Commissioner M Nagarajan highlighted that Surat is the worsthit district with Umarpada taluka recording 247 mm of rainfall during this period He said Amid a red alert on Friday around 1500 residents have been relocated from lowlying areas to safer locations Teams from the NDRF SDRF and the Indian Army are on standby to undertake rescue operations as per PTISchools and other educational institutions will remain closed on Friday and Saturday as a precautionary measure he further addedWaterlogging across 59 spots in SuratAn official release while briefing about the situation said that waterlogging was reported in 59 spots across Surat cityNadiad in Kheda district received 191 mm of rainfall in 8 hours till 2 pm on Friday leading to waterlogging in several lowlying areas of the city and rural areas The districts Vaso area received 177 mm of rainfallBorsad in Anand district received 170 mm of rainfall between 6 am and 2 pm followed by Khambhat which received 165 mm of rainfallNetrang in Bharuch district received 155 mm of rainfall while Petlad in Anand district and Sagbara in Narmada district received 152 mm of rainfall in eight hours as per PTITapi districts Dolvan received 149 mm of rainfall during this period followed by Surats Ambika 146 mm Narmadas Garudeshwar 144 mm Surats Areth 138 mm and Dangs Subir 137 mmVarious agencies deployedSeveral areas in Ahmedabad also received spells of rain amid a red alert from Friday afternoonRelief Commissioner Makwana said 17 NDRF teams and 33 SDRF teams have been deployed in rainaffected areas across Gujarat Whereas three NDRF teams are on standbyAdditionally a database of available rescue boats and their operators in the district have been prepared to facilitate immediate rescue operations whenever requiredIMD issues red alertA red alert has been issued for Friday for Narmada Surat Ahmedabad Anand Vadodara Chhota Udepur Bharuch Tapi Dang Navsari Valsad Daman Dadra and Nagar Haveli Bhavnagar and Botad districts as per the IMDs forecastThe forecast noted On August 1 heavy to very heavy rains at a few places with isolated extremely heavy falls are very likely in the districts of the Gujarat region namely Ahmedabad and Anand and in the districts of Saurashtra namely Surendranagar Rajkot Bhavnagar and Botad as per PTIAdministrations of Surat Vadodara Ahmedabad Bhavnagar Bharuch Anand Narmada Tapi Dang Chhota Udepur Panchmahal Dahod and Mahisagar have been placed on high alert officials saidA holiday has been declared on Friday for all educational institutions in several districts including Ahmedabad Surat Panchmahal Anand Bharuch Navsari Jamnagar Kheda and VadodaraWith inputs from PTI