Alert in Telangana, 700 people evacuated in Gujarat amid rains

At least 700 people in Navsari and Valsad districts of Gujarat were shifted from low-lying areas on Sunday as heavy rain led to a rise in water levels of three rivers, officials said.

Authorities were put on alert as the rising water levels of the Orsang river in Navsari district led some incidents of flooding while the Kaveri and Ambika rivers in the area were flowing above the danger level mark, said Navsari district collector Amit Prakash Yadav.

“We are carrying out evacuation work from low-lying areas. So far, over 300 people have been shifted to safer places and the operation is continuing with the help of a company of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF),” according to district collector Amit Prakash Yadav.

In Valsad, more than 400 people were evacuated after the Orsang river level rose and caused flooding in low-lying areas, said a district administration official, asking not to be named.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall with isolated extremely heavy showers over the next five days in south Gujarat’s districts of Dang, Navsari and Valsad.

Several other districts of south Gujarat and Saurashtra are also likely to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall during this period, the IMD said.

Chhotaudepur and Narmada districts also reported very heavy rainfall and some incidents of flooding on Sunday.

Dharampur taluka in Valsad district and Vansda in Navsari received 216 mm and 213 mm rainfall, respectively, in the 24-hour period till 6 am on Sunday, as per the data shared by the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC). In Navsari, Chikhli and Khergam talukas received 197 mm and 194 mm downpour respectively, Kaprada in Valsad recorded 194 mm showers during the same period.

In another development, the Telengana government sounded a high alert for the next four to five days and announced holidays for all the educational institutions till Wednesday as heavy rains battered the state for the fourth consecutive day on Sunday.

Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, who chaired a high-level review meeting on the flood situation in the state, said there will be heavy to very heavy rains in the state in the next four to five days.

“We have alerted all the district collectors and superintendent of police to take up the rescue operations in the flood-prone areas so that there are no loss of lives,” Rao said. “Holidays have been declared for all the educational institutions and we appeal to the people to not venture out of the houses unless it is an emergency,” he said.

According to a bulletin from IMD, heavy to very heavy to extremely heavy rains could be witnessed in Adilabad, Komaram Bheem Asifabad, Mancherial, Nirmal, Nizamabad, Jagityal, Peddapally and Jayashankar Bhupalapally districts till Wednesday.

Similarly, orange alert forecast of heavy to very heavy rain has been issued for isolated places in Rajanna Sirsilla, Karimnagar, Mulugu, Bhadradri Kothagudem, Khammam, Nalgonda, Suryapet, Mahabubabad, Warangal (Rural), Warangal (Urban) and Janagaon districts till Wednesday. On Sunday, nearly 10 locations in the state received over 10 cm rainfall.

Meanwhile, the weather authorities on Sunday said that the coastal districts of Karnataka will be under red alert as heavy rains are expected to continue in the region.

(With inputs from PTI)