Monday, September 2: Gujarat is currently grappling with the aftermath of last week’s devastating floods—a result of intense rains triggered by a deep depression system over the West Indian region. Since August 25, torrential rains have claimed at least 36 lives across the state, while also causing significant damage to livestock, property and infrastructure.
Responding to a request from the Gujarat government, the Indian Army has deployed six columns to conduct rescue operations in the most affected areas. These efforts are part of a larger relief mission as continuous heavy rainfall keeps parts of the state in a flood-like situation.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has stepped in, forming an inter-ministerial team tasked with assessing the damage caused by the floods and heavy rains between August 25 and 30. This team will visit the worst-hit districts of Gujarat to conduct their surveys.
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has also directed the Road Construction Department to urgently repair the state’s highways, which have suffered significant damage. Repair work is currently underway on several key roads, including Vadodara-Vapi, Rajkot-Jetpur and Chiloda-Himmatnagar, with operations being managed continuously from Gandhinagar under the supervision of Chief Engineers and Secretaries. The National Highways Authority of India is coordinating with the state government to expedite these efforts.
As the relief work continues, it appears Gujarat may have to brace for more severe weather in the days ahead.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast isolated extremely heavy rainfall (exceeding 204 mm) for the Gujarat subdivision on September 2-3, followed by very heavy rainfall (64.5 mm-204 mm) on September 3-4. Additionally, heavy showers (64.5 mm-115.5 mm) are expected to continue drenching isolated locations across Gujarat and the Saurashtra-Kutch subdivisions throughout the week.
With these predictions in mind, the state will remain under an orange alert until Wednesday, advising residents to ‘be prepared’ for rough weather conditions. Similar rainfall patterns are also anticipated in neighbouring states Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh during this period.
