IMD issues ‘red alert’ for Vadodara, Surat, and other districts in Gujarat

The western state of Gujarat is experiencing a flood-like situation as rainfall continues to thrash the state. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a ‘red alert’ for multiple districts in Gujarat, warning people of more downpours in the coming days.
IMD’s red alert warning is for the districts of Vadodara, Chhotaudepur, Narmada, Bharuch, Surat, and several other districts in Gujarat. The deep depression phenomena over the Saurashtra and Kachchh region centred currently 50 km north-northwest of Bhuj, is estimated to worsen as it moves towards the northeast Arabian Sea, bringing more rain to the region.
The deep depression is moving at a speed of 12 kilometers per hour (kmpl) and is expected to bring “extremely heavy to exceptionally heavy” rain to the Saurashtra and Kachchh regions, said Ramashray Yadav, a scientist at IMD, reported the Hindustan Times. The situation is likely to remain the same, with heavy rain warnings extending over the coming four days, he said.
The situation is worse in Vadodara, where the city has submerged underwater for the last two days, up to 12 feet in some areas, as per media reports. The Vishwamitri River flowing through the district has risen 37 feet, way above the danger mark after the heavy downpour and the water release from the Ajwa dam.
This issue has resulted the city of Vadodara to face severe flooding situations, resulting in the state government to reach out to the Indian Army to help in relief and rescue operations.
Rushikesh Patel, the health minister of Gujarat, described the situation as “alarming.” The local entities have evacuated more than 5,000 residents to safety and rescued 1.200 stranded people, as per reports.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams have been deployed to increase the pace of the relief operations, said Patel, as per the report. The majority of the city remains underwater, with areas like Siddharth Nagar, Akota, and Fatehgunj facing the harsher blow of the flooding.
Across the state, the rain-related incidents have cost 16 people their lives in the last two days. Thousands of people have been displaced as the state experiences its fourth data of heavy downpour.
Patel said that the government is looking at long-term solutions to reduce the flooding, as they propose to divert the water from then Ajwa Dam to the Narmada Canal, compared to letting it flow in the Viswamitri River. “The plan has been discussed with Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel,” said the minister, as per the report.