Heavy rains claimed 49 lives in Gujarat over week, 37,000 rescued

Heavy downpours in Gujarat in the last week of August claimed 49 lives, damaged roads and caused floods, prompting the rescue of over 37,000 people by multiple agencies including the NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) and Army, officials said on Wednesday.

A deep depression triggered heavy to very heavy rainfall in several areas of Gujarat between 25 and 30 August. The depression, which formed over the Gujarat-Rajasthan border, gradually moved into the Arabian Sea (which later turned into cyclonic storm Asna), said state relief commissioner Alok Kumar Pandey.

During this period, 49 persons died in rain-related incidents, such as lightning strikes, wall collapse, and drowning in flood waters, he told reporters at Gandhinagar-based State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC).

"Among the 49 deaths, the kin of 22 have already been paid Rs 4 lakh each as compensation as per norms. A sum of Rs 1.78 crore has been disbursed to the owners of 2,618 livestock that perished," Pandey said, adding that Gujarat so far received 108 per cent of its average annual rainfall.

In the wake of the heavy rainfall, 17 teams of the NDRF, 27 from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), nine columns from the Army, and additional teams of the IAF and the coast guard were deployed, the state relief commissioner added.

"These teams have successfully rescued 37,050 people and relocated 42,083 others to safer locations. Additionally, 53 people have been airlifted to safety," Pandey said.

He said surveys are being conducted in rain-affected districts to assess the damage caused to temporary as well as permanent houses, including those partially or wholly destroyed.

"An assistance worth Rs 3.67 crore has been distributed to the owners of 4,673 affected houses and huts. The district administrations will continue to process further payments for the loss of household items and towards emergency cash relief as and when details regarding the number of affected families and people become available," Pandey said.

He said the survey operations are being conducted by 1,120 teams in Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot, Anand, Kutch, Kheda, Gandhinagar, Jamnagar, Devbhumi Dwarka, Narmada, Navsari, Porbandar, Morbi, and Valsad districts.

"A cash relief of Rs 8.04 crore has been disbursed to over 1.69 lakh people in these districts so far. To date, Rs 20.07 crore has been disbursed as household and clothing assistance to 50,111 affected families in these districts," he said.

Pandey said heavy rains damaged roads measuring 2,230 km, which will be repaired and made motorable in the next ten days. "Out of 6,931 villages and 17 cities affected by rain-induced power outages, electricity has been restored in 6,927 villages and all the 17 cities. Work is going on a war footing to restore power in the remaining villages," he added.

Parts of Gujarat witnessed flooding due to heavy rains between 20 and 29 August. The weather office had forecast heavy to very heavy rains at isolated places in several districts of Gujarat over the next week.

While the Kutch region has received the highest average rainfall of 179 per cent so far this season, Saurashtra and south Gujarat have experienced 125 and 117 per cent of average annual precipitation, respectively, according to data.