At least six people have died as torrential rains lashed central Gujarat city of Vadodara and neighbouring areas for the fifth consecutive day creating a flood-like situation.
A major cloudburst in the Vadodara city and around threw normal life out of gear, flooding most areas, with the rainfall touching a whopping 18 inches by Wednesday evening.
Vadodara tehsil received the highest rainfall in Gujarat on Wednesday with Dabhoi tehsil in the district following at 152 mm, Karjan with 137 mm and Waghodia with 124 mm. The neighbouring Chhota Upepur and Panchmahal districts received 100 mm rainfall.
The city recorded 554 mm rainfall in 12 hours, the highest-ever it has recorded, on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani held a high-level meeting on Wednesday to review the situation in the city and deputed two IAS officers to provide guidance to the local administration.
Reached State Emergency Operation Center, Gandhinagar and held a review meeting with officials on heavy rain situation in Vadodara. Instructed officials to leave no stone unturned to counter any adverse situation. pic.twitter.com/6i9iAVCUbC
— Vijay Rupani (@vijayrupanibjp) July 31, 2019
All schools and colleges have been ordered to remain shut on August 1.
The heavy downpour has disrupted the transport system in the city with trains services being hit and the airport shut till 9 am.
The Western Railways on Wednesday had said that some trains passing through the city were either cancelled or diverted due to “heavy water-logging”.
Psngrs may kindly note the cancellation of trains on 1/8/19 due to short termination of pairing rakes on 31/7/19 due to water logging at Vadodara following heavy rains. Pls dial 139 or click on https://t.co/I6LcHIGE16 for train status. pic.twitter.com/JBl5wwMWO8
— Western Railway (@WesternRly) August 1, 2019
The Vadodara airport on the outskirts of the city was temporarily shut down and two domestic flights were cancelled, airport authorities had said on Wednesday.
Rains also lashed other parts of the state on Wednesday, including Ahmedabad city and central Gujarat.
More than 100 people were rescued from the swirling waters of the Vishwamitri river from Bhayli suburb in Vadodara, according to the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC).
The National Disaster Response Force has deployed three rescue teams in the Vadodara region.
The usually dry Vishwamitri river, which flows through the city, was rising dramatically from 23 feet towards its danger levels of 26 feet, authorities said. The nearby Ajwa dam’s water level also increased to 209.45 feet against its warning level of 215 feet.
Electricity lines were damaged in some areas, leading to a blackout. The fire brigade rescue teams and administration have swung into action to resolve the issues.
Moderate to heavy showers also continued in the rest of the state, especially in south Gujarat with certain areas receiving more than 40 mm of rainfall in the last 12 hours.