Heavy Rains Wreak Havoc in Gujarat As Cars, Cattle Swept Away; Junagadh Worst Hit | WATCH – News18

Gujarat reeled under heavy rainfall as incessant showers triggered a flood-like situation on Saturday, with Junagadh being the worst hit. Startling visuals showed dozens of parked cars and cattle being swept away in gushing waters.

Junagadh city received 219 mm of rain in 8 hours until 4 pm on Saturday. Visuals on social media showed people wading through waist-deep water to shift to safer places. Meanwhile, some of them were rescued by volunteers as they were carried away in strong currents.

The districts of Navsari and Junagadh were the worst hit by the torrential downpours which caused flooding in various residential areas and marketplaces.

Navsari

Navsari district was pounded by heavy rains, disrupting normal life in both urban and rural areas as flooding occurred. Between 6 am and 4 pm, Navsari and Jalalpore talukas received 303 mm and 276 mm of rainfall, respectively.

Navsari city received over 200 mm of rainfall within a few hours, overwhelming the drainage system and leading to water spilling onto roads and low-lying areas. The incessant showers also resulted in massive traffic congestion, but a coordinated effort by the authorities helped bring the situation under control, said Additional Collector Ketan Joshi.

A godown storing empty gas cylinders was also affected as water gushed in after a wall collapsed, washing away the LPG containers. The district supply department is investigating the matter, he said.

According to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC), Devbhumi Dwarka, Bhavnagar, Bharuch, Surat, Tapi, Valsad and Amreli were among the districts that received heavy rainfall on Saturday.

Moreover, heavy showers caused traffic jams on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad national highway near Navsari due to flooding. Due to the rain in Navsari district, there was a traffic jam of 5-7 km on the National Highway. At present, traffic has opened towards Ahmedabad and Mumbai, said SK Rai, Dy SP, Navsari.

Navsari Collector, Amit Prakash Yadav said the region received heavy rains between 8 am and 12 am, leading to waterlogging in many parts of the city. “Water has receded almost everywhere, but some low-lying areas are still waterlogged. Our 40 teams are present at the spot. No loss of life has been reported, but one person is missing, and the search is underway.”

One Missing, Two Drown

In Navsari city, a father-son duo was swept away in a swollen drain. The man was rescued, but efforts were underway to trace the son, according to an official. In another tragic incident near Silvassa town of Dadra and Nagar Haveli district, a father-son duo drowned after their car got washed away. The incident occurred on Friday night when they were attempting to cross a low-lying bridge and were caught by fast-moving waters. A rescue team found their bodies inside the vehicle on Saturday afternoon, as per an official statement.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall, including isolated extremely heavy rainfall, in south Gujarat and Saurashtra-Kutch districts until Sunday morning. Many other districts of south Gujarat and Saurashtra-Kutch will continue to experience heavy to very heavy rainfall for the next three days, as per the IMD’s forecast.

Additionally, the IMD cautioned fishermen against venturing along and off the north Gujarat coast from July 22 to July 26, as squally weather conditions are very likely to prevail during this period.

(With inputs from ANI and PTI)