Thursday, July 6: Monsoonal rains and the resulting floods have been ravaging Gujarat for over a week now — ever since the southwest monsoon covered the state with much fanfare on June 27. But things really went out of hand on Wednesday, when a car got stuck in a waterlogged underpass in the Nadiad district.
Fortunately, the four occupants were rescued by the fire brigade and made it out of the ordeal largely unscathed. However, a similar fate seems unlikely for the Gujarat state, which is in for more incessant rainfall in the coming days.
Monsoonal winds aside, an off-shore trough persists between the South Gujarat coast and the North Kerala coast. Under the influence of these systems, the western states will see copious downpours until July 10.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), light or moderate widespread rainfall interspersed with isolated heavy to very heavy showers (64.5 mm-204.5 mm) are likely to batter Gujarat state during the next five days, until Monday (July 10).
Further, isolated extremely heavy falls (more than 204.5 mm) are also forecast over the Gujarat region on Friday (July 7) and Saurashtra-Kutch on Friday and Saturday (July 7-8).
Rainfall alerts over Gujarat
In view of these forecasts, an orange alert (meaning ‘be prepared’) has been issued over the Gujarat region until Monday and Saurashtra and Kutch for the next four days, until Sunday. With the rains expected to let up slightly after that, a yellow watch (meaning ‘be updated’) will take over Saurashtra-Kutch on Monday.
The following district-level alerts have been issued across the state until the weekend:
July 6: Orange alert over Valsad and Daman and Dadra Nagar Haveli due to the likelihood of heavy to very heavy rains. Yellow watch over Vadodara, Chhotaudepur, Surat, Dangs, Navsari, Jamnagar, Amreli, and Gir Somnath due to the possibility of heavy rains.
July 7: Red warning over Anand due to chances of isolated extremely heavy falls. Orange alerts over Bharuch, Surat, Navsari, Valsad, Daman and Dadra Nagar Haveli, Surendranagar and Botad due to heavy to very heavy rains. And Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Chhotaudepur, Narmada, Dangs, Tapi, Junagadh, and Gir Somnath on yellow watch due to heavy rains.
July 8: Red warning over Jamnagar and Kutch owing to possibility of extremely heavy falls. Orange alert issued in Banaskantha, Patan, Sabarkantha, Porbandar and Dwarka due to heavy to very heavy rains. Yellow watch over Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Bharuch, Surat, Navsari, Valsad, Surendranagar, Rajkot, Morbi, Daman and Dadra Nagar Haveli owing to heavy rains.
July 9: Yellow watch across Navsari, Valsad, Daman and Dadra Nagar Haveli, Jamnagar, Morbi, Dwarka, and Kutch due to heavy rain forecast.
Moderate risks of flash floods exist over a few watersheds and neighbouring areas in the Gujarat region, Saurashtra and Kutch over the next 24 hours. Surface runoff or inundation may occur in parts with fully saturated soils and low-lying areas in the same period.
And as per the irrigation department, out of 206 reservoirs in the state, 23 are on high alert, 15 are on alert and 10 are on warning.
However, the ongoing rains have prompted farmers to sow crops. Kharif sowing has risen by 10 lakh hectares this year compared to last year due to widespread rains, state Agriculture Minister Raghavji Patel said. Crops like cotton and groundnut have seen a considerable boom.
Meanwhile, owing to the active monsoon rains and Cyclone Biparjoy, Gujarat is among the few states to have registered excess rains so far this season. Between June 1 and July 5, the state recorded 303.1 mm of rainfall — leaving it with a surplus of 102%.
