Heavy rainfall batters south, central Gujarat; ‘red alert’ in 13 districts

Heavy rain continued to affect south and central Gujarat on Friday, forcing the evacuation of over 5,100 people, triggering rescue operations and prompting authorities to deploy National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and army teams across vulnerable districts.Navsari recorded the highest number of evacuations at 2,082, followed by Tapi with 1,245. (PTI photo)The state government placed 13 districts under a red alert namely Ahmedabad, Botad, Bhavnagar, Anand, Vadodara, Bharuch, Surat, Navsari, Chhota Udepur, Narmada, Tapi, Dang and Valsad while Surendranagar, Rajkot, Amreli, Gandhinagar, Kheda, Panchmahal and Dahod remained under an orange alert.According to the state government’s media statement issued on Friday noon, as many as 5,167 people had been shifted to safer locations. Navsari recorded the highest number of evacuations at 2,082, followed by Tapi with 1,245 and Surat with 1,221. Vadodara shifted 329 people, Narmada 178, Anand 112 and Kheda 30.Also Read: Gujarat rains: Himmatnagar floods drown cars, IMD issues yellow alertRescue teams saved 11 people, including 10 in Narmada district and one in Chhota Udepur. The state has deployed 17 NDRF teams, 33 SDRF platoons and six army columns. Vadodara has the highest deployment with three NDRF teams, while Ahmedabad, Surat and Navsari each have two Army columns stationed for emergency response.South and central Gujarat received intense rainfall between 6am and 12noon. Umarpada in Surat recorded the highest rainfall at 203mm, followed by Vaso in Kheda with 162mm, Borsad in Anand with 159mm, Nadiad in Kheda with 151mm and Khambhat in Anand with 147mm. Sagbara and Garudeshwar in Narmada received 144 mm each, while Anand and Petlad recorded 14 mm each.Of the state’s 206 reservoirs, 21 were on high alert, including 13 that had reached or exceeded full capacity and eight with storage between 90% and 100%.