Heavy rains wreck havoc in many parts of Gujarat & Odisha
Incessant rains during the last 48 hours have claimed 27 lives in Gujarat. The downpour since on Monday disrupted normal life even as the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State Reserve Police (SRP) teams have started operations in the view of the flood-like situation.
“Over 2,000 villages of north Gujarat have been affected due to the floods,” a duty officer in the state’s emergency control room told AFP. “We have lost contact with most of these villages and there is no information coming in from those areas.”
The rain and high winds have also cut power and communications, raising concerns that villagers may be stranded. Rescue teams have been deployed to several hard-hit areas, including the district of Banaskantha where eight people have been killed in rain-related incidents including drownings. The district collector Dilip Rana said, “Efforts are on to first rescue those stranded in floodwaters.”
Banaskantha district was the worst hit as incessant rain caused a flood-like situation, especially in towns bordering Rajasthan, the epicenter of deep depression that is bringing rainfall in Gujarat.
Odisha too facing the wrath of the rain gods
Heavy rains in the catchment areas of rivers over the last three days triggered a medium flood like situation in parts of Jajpur, Bhadrak and Mayurbhanj districts on Tuesday as Baitarani, Budhabalanga and Subernarekha rivers flowed at their respective danger levels.
The flood water in Baitarani river is flowing at 18.59 metre at Akhuapada against its red mark of 17.83 metre. The river is also flowing at 39.45 metre at Anandapur in Keonjhar against the dangermark of 38.46 metre at 4.00 pm on Tuesday,” said Namita Barik, district emergency officer of Jajpur.
On Wednesday, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik asked the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) to be ready to meet any eventuality.
