New Delhi: India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday issued a red alert, warning heavy to very heavy rains and flood-like conditions in parts of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh in the next 48 hours.
A low-pressure area formed over the Bay of Bengal last week has moved over Gujarat, whereas low-pressure in Odisha and Chhattisgarh, intensified into a deep depression on Tuesday, will reach northern Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh within 48 hours, it said.
For Gujarat, the IMD issued a red alert for districts in Central Gujarat and the Saurashtra region, including Rajkot, Jamnagar, Junagarh, Valsad, Khera, and Anand.
This week’s heavy rains in Jamnagar and Rajkot districts created a flood-like situation in many areas. Rajkot city was the worst hit, with 203mm recorded rainfall between Monday and Tuesday mornings. More than 7,000 people were relocated in the two districts.
The Indian Air Force and Navy helped rescue and rehabilitate nearly 2,000 people from the affected regions.
Junagarh received between 100 mm and 150 mm rainfall on Tuesday and will receive heavy to very heavy rains at isolated places. According to IMD, isolated extremely heavy rains will continue in the Junagarh district.
Surat, Dang, Navsari, Valsad, Tapi, Rajkot, Amreli, Bhavnagar, Gir, and Somnath districts and the Union Territories of Diu, Daman, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli also expect heavy to very heavy rainfall from Wednesday through Friday.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) deployed 15 teams, with 2 teams each in Jamnagar and Rajkot, 1 team each in Valsad, Surat, Navsari, Gir-Somnath, Amreli, Bhavnagar, Junagadh, Botad, and Morbi districts, and a backup team in Gandhinagar and Vadodara.
The Konkan region, Central Maharashtra, Eastern MP, and Chhattisgarh have also been placed under the orange alert for the next 48 hours.
(Avya Mathur)