AROUND 1,200 people have been rescued and hundreds more relocated to safer places as heavy showers battered south Gujarat districts, where Umbergaon taluka received over 1,100 mm rains in just 16 hours, an official said Thursday. One rain-related death was reported in Tapi district, while teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the state’s SDRF as well as the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Coast Guard were put on alert for rescue efforts, he said. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel reviewed the rain situation and also spoke to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who assured the Gujarat Government of all necessary assistance. Valsad district was the worst affected by the recent rains with Umbergaon taluka receiving over 1,100 mm rains between 6 am on Wednesday and 10 am on Thursday, State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) data showed. Many other talukas in the district received over 600 mm rains during the same period, it said. A ‘red alert’, warning of heavy to extremely heavy rainfall, was in effect since Wednesday for the southern districts of Valsad, Navsari, Surat, and Tapi, with NDRF and SDRF teams deployed there for rescue operations, Relief Commissioner Gaurang Makwana said.

 

“The Air Force and Coast Guard are also on alert and people will be airlifted if necessary, once weather conditions improve,” he told reporters. Makwana informed that deployment of disaster management personnel is being scaled up in view of increase in the intensity of rainfall, and rescue operations are being conducted in coordination with the administration, police, and local volunteers. “So far, 1,200 people have been rescued, and 1,500 residents in Surat moved to safe locations. In Navsari district, 200 people stranded across 11 villages due to rise in the water level of the Kaveri river have been rescued and relocated to safety,” said the IAS officer. He said senior officials, including district collectors and mamlatdars (revenue department personnel), have been deployed in rain-affected areas. Amid heavy rains, more than 300 roads were temporarily closed, over 200 trips of state-run buses were affected, while power outages were reported in many areas, stated the Relief Commissioner. Surat has two NDRF and five SDRF teams, while two teams of the NDRF and four of the SDRF have been deployed in Valsad. For Navsari, 21 NDRF teams and two of the SDRF are being mobilised from Surat, according to Makwana.