A dozen people have lost their lives in various rain-related incidents in Gujarat where nearly 1,400 people were evacuated from inundated areas as torrential rains have disrupted normal life in several parts in the State. The rains abated during the day.
So far, 50 people have died since the beginning of the monsoon from mid June.
The State has so far received 106.78% of its annual average rainfall as per the government. The heavy spell of rainfall lasted almost a week till Tuesday.
90 of the 205 large dams full
Heavy rains in catchment areas have filled to the brim 90 of the 205 large dams while 70 dams have reached over 70% of their storage capacity.
The level in the lifeline Sardar Sarovar Dam has reached 128.93 metre, 10 metre short of its capacity.
At least 17 talukas in Kutch and Banaskantha districts received between 17 to 67 mm rainfall between 6 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Tuesday, the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) said.
Though the intensity of the showers has decreased, rescue and relief operations continued in the rain-battered regions as the teams of the National and State Disaster Response Forces evacuated people stranded in low-lying areas in towns and also in far flung villages.
The State has witnessed rainfall in most of the districts in an evenly distributed monsoon.
Evacuated to safety
In Rajkot, 30 farm labourers trapped in a field on the banks of the Bhadar river were evacuated to safety by the SDRF, an SEOC official said.
Moreover, 289 persons were rescued and 1,358 shifted to safer places, most of them in Surendranagar, Rajkot and Kutch districts.
In South Gujarat, several parts of Surat were flooded due to the rainfall over the last two days and water was yet to recede from these areas which did not receive any showers on Tuesday.
As many as 12 persons lost their lives in rain-related incidents such as drowning and house collapse.
While three persons drowned in Morbi district, one death each was reported from Dang, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Tapi, Kutch and Amreli districts.
A man died in a wall collapse incident in Patan, while two more died in other accidents.
High alert issued
A high alert has been issued for areas downstream of 138 dams from which water is being released as the inflow continues.
According to the Agriculture department, copious rains have prompted farmers to sow more this kharif season. Sowing has covered 82.98 lakh hectares so far, which is 97.78% of the three-year average.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heavy to very heavy rains at isolated places in Banaskantha, Valsad, Navsari and Kutch on August 29 and 30, and light to moderate rainfall at many places over the next five days.
