Gujarat rains: Ministry of Home Affairs sets up inter-ministerial team to assess flood situation

The Ministry of Home Affairs on Sunday constituted inter-ministerial team to assess damage caused by rains, floods in Gujarat, officials said.

The ministry is also in touch with officers of flood-affected states and it said that it would depute central teams to assess damages.

It further added that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, Central government was fully committed to providing all possible help to flood-affected states.

The statement said the MHA has constituted an inter-ministerial central team (IMCT) led by the executive director, the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), to assess the damage caused by rainfall and floods in Gujarat, the statement said.

Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan were also affected by heavy to very heavy rainfall. Multiple spells of heavy rains, cloudbursts and landslides have caused extensive damage in Himachal Pradesh this year.

The MHA is in touch with senior officers of these states, and will depute IMCT there as well, if the severe damages are reported by them, the statement said.As per the decision taken by the Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in August 2019, the MHA, this year, constituted IMCTs which have visited flood and landslides-affected states of Assam, Kerala, Mizoram, and Tripura in advance for on-spot assessment of the damage without waiting for their memorandum.The IMCT for Nagaland has also been constituted, which will visit the affected areas of the state shortly.
In the past, the IMCT used to visit the disaster-affected states only after the receipt of a memorandum from the state government, the statement said.

Gujarat rains

Gujarat has received heavy rainfall in from August 25 to August 29, resulting in 47 deaths. The state will see another round of heavy rainfall from Sunday, said the IMD.

The IMD said that a cyclone formed in the Arabian Sea is travelling towards Gujarat and Maharashtra. Heavy rain is expected over Saurashtra, central Gujarat and south Gujarat till September 5. This is the first cyclone in the Arabian Sea since 1976.

Jamnagar reported the maximum number of fatalities at seven, between August 25 and 29. It was followed by Ahmedabad and Anand with six deaths each.

Three persons each died in Vadodara, Kheda, Mahisagar, Surendranagar and Kutch districts lost their lives. While Gandhinagar, Bharuch, Dahod and Chhota Udepur recorded two deaths each, Morbi, Dang, Aravalli, Panchmahal and Devbhoomi Dwarka reported one death each.

The death toll, however, doesn’t include the seven bodies found in Vadodara two days ago, seven who drowned in Morbi, and two deaths due to electrocution in Vadodara.

As of Saturday, Gujarat has received 111% of seasonal rainfall.

Telangana rains

Similarly, the IMD said that heavy rains would continue across Telangana, a state that is already struggling with floods.

The depression in the Bay of Bengal caused 52 cm of rainfall Thirumalayapalem in Khammam district, which is the highest rainfall of the season in the state. Further,districts including Warangal, Mahabubabad, and Suryapet experienced rainfall exceeding 40 cm. This has led to severe damage in low-lying areas.

The heavy rains forced the South Central Railway to cancel and divert several trains travelling through the state on Sunday.

Hyderabad also witnessed heavy rainfall from 8:30 am Saturday to 8:30 am on Sunday. The city narrowly escaped extreme core rains, which could have meant more than 30 cm rains, similar to that of 2020 floods.

Heavy rainfall on Sunday led to severe flooding in the Rama Krishna Puram area of Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh, submerging houses and cars.

Police and NDRF teams have initiated rescue and relief operations, relocating affected residents to rehabilitation centres.

The IMD has predicted heavy rainfall on Sunday in 15 districts of the state, including Adilabad, Nirmal, Nizamabad, Kamareddy Mahabubnagar, Wanaparthy, Narayanpet, Gadwal, Asifabad, Jagtial, Bhupalpally, Mulugu, Warangal, Hanumakonda, and Jangaon, which could cause floods in the areas.

Assam rains

A spell of heavy rain early on Sunday inundated several arterial roads and residential areas in Assam’s Guwahati, disrupting vehicular movement and causing inconvenience to residents of the capital city of the northeastern state. People were seen wading through knee-deep waters in some areas of the city while the water level reached up to the chest in several localities.

Inundation was reported from Zoo Road, Nabin Nagar, Ganeshguri, Hedayetpur, Guwahati Club, Ulubari, Hatigaon, Gita Nagar, Maligaon, Lachit Nagar, Chandmari, Panjabari, Jorabat, Jatia, Jyotikuchi and Ghoramara and RG Baruah Road areas.

The three-hour downpour also led to waterlogging in GS Road, Anil Nagar, VIP Road, Tarun Nagar, Rajgarh Road, Jorabat, Rukmini Gaon, Survey and Chatribari areas in the city.

The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Guwahati has issued a ‘yellow alert’ in and around the city with the prediction of heavy rainfall at isolated places.

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