30 villages in Gujarat's Junagadh cut off as heavy rains submerge roads; 362 mm rainfall in Vanthali

Junagadh: Around 30 villages in Junagadh district of Gujarat were cut off as roads leading to them got submerged following heavy rains, with Vanthali in the district recording 361 mm rains in the 24-hour period ending Tuesday morning, officials said.

Ten talukas in the Saurashtra and southern region of the state received more than 200 mm rainfall in the 24-hour period resulting in water-logging in low-lying areas, they said.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) said in a statement that it has sent one team to Keshod in Junagadh district to help the people who were left stranded as a result of disconnected roads.

"Nearly 30 villages in Junagadh district were cut off as roads connecting them have gone under water following heavy rains," a senior official said.

The affected talukas in the district are Keshod, Manavadar and Vanthali, the official added.

As per the data shared by the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC), Vanthali taluka in Junagadh received 361 mm rainfall in the 24-hour period ending 6 am. It was followed by Visavadar taluka (336 mm), Junagadh taluka (297 mm), Jungadh city (297 mm) and Keshod taluka, where 248 mm of rainfall was recorded in 24 hours.

Other places where heavy downpour was recorded in the last 24 hours include Bardoli taluka of Surat (239 mm), Khambhalia taluka of Devbhumi Dwarka (229 mm), Manavadar of Junagadh (224 mm) Navsari taluka of Navsari district (214 mm) and Kalyanpur taluka of Devbhumi Dwarka (200 mm).

In all, 10 talukas of Saurashtra and south Gujarat regions received over 200 mm of rainfall in 24 hours.

Several parts of the state have been receiving good amount of rainfall since the last three days.

The NDRF said it has deployed 10 teams in different parts of Saurashtra, Kutch and south Gujarat in view of the heavy rainfall and resultant waterlogging.

Notably, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday issued a 'red alert' for several districts, including Junagadh and Surat, forecasting extremely heavy rainfall till Tuesday morning.

As per the fresh forecast, heavy to very heavy rain would lash several parts of Gujarat on Tuesday and Wednesday.

On Tuesday, parts of south Gujarat and Saurashtra may receive "very heavy rains" at isolated places while heavy rain would lash several parts of north Gujarat, central Gujarat and Saurashtra region.

On July 3, very heavy rains would occur in Surat, Navsari, Valsad and in Daman and Dadra Nagar Haveli, the IMD said in release, adding that Gujarat is experiencing a wet spell due to two cyclonic circulation over north as well as south Gujarat.