Heavy rains lash parts of Gujarat, water level rises in Dwarka dam

Heavy rains lashed parts of Gujarat leading to a rise in the level of water in the Sinhan and Ghee dams of Dwarka. The level of water in the Sinhan and Ghee dams overflowed due to incessant rain battering parts of Gujarat's Dwarka for the last four days.

India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Saturday predicted heavy rainfall in several parts of Gujarat in the next 24 hours adding that the state would witness more than 20 cm of rain and it may continue at isolated places. Dr Naresh Kumar, IMD Scientist says, "At present, the monsoon is in the active phase... So under its influence, extremely heavy rainfall is already occurring over the state of Gujarat which will continue for the next 24 hours. Extremely heavy rainfall means more than 20 cm. Thereafter heavy rainfall may continue at isolated places."

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued red, orange, and yellow alerts for various Gujarat districts till July 24. In the past few days, Gujarat experienced relentless heavy rainfall, resulting in floods in low-lying regions of Saurashtra and Kutch.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday spoke to Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and enquired about the flood-like situation occurring in various parts of the state due to recent heavy rainfall. Shah spoke to Gujarat's Chief Minister as the state is battered by heavy monsoon rains with flood-like situations in its multiple cities. In the Junagadh district of Gujarat, heavy rains displayed their fury with cars being washed away by rivers.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) on Sunday rescued three people, including a pregnant woman, after they were trapped in Gujarat's Mocha village due to water logging. "As per information received from Police Inspector Madhavpur that a pregnant woman is trapped at Mocha village due to water logging, a team of 6th battalion NDRF conducted a rescue operation and safely rescued three persons," NDRF stated.

In Junagadh, several cattle and vehicles washed away in a heavy water flow as incessant rainfall triggered severe flooding in residential areas. In the past few days, Gujarat experienced relentless heavy rainfall, resulting in floods in low-lying regions of Saurashtra and Kutch on Wednesday. Furthermore, Rajkot faced severe waterlogging due to continuous and heavy rain on Thursday.

Meanwhile, IMD on Sunday also predicted moderate spells of rain to likely occur at isolated places in Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri, and Raigad districts in Maharashtra. IMD Mumbai said, "Nowcast warning issued at 13.00 Hrs. Moderate spells of rain are very likely to occur at isolated places in the districts of Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri, and Raigad."

Severe water-logging also occurred in Bhiwandi following heavy rainfall which led to cars being half submerged in water. Meanwhile, Delhi's Yamuna River on Sunday crossed the danger mark once again following a surge in discharge from the Hathnikund Barrage into the river, increasing the chances of another spell of floods in the capital.

The water level of the Yamuna River in the National Capital was recorded at 206.31 metres till 4 pm, crossing the danger mark. The administration is making announcements to vacate low-lying areas.

Earlier in the morning the water level of the Yamuna River in the National Capital was recorded at 205.81 metres, marginally above the danger mark of 205.33m. After the heavy rainfall in parts of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, the water was discharged from Haryana's Hathnikund Barrage.

The Delhi government is on high alert due to the discharge of over 2 lakh cusecs of water from the barrage into the river, said revenue minister Atishi on Saturday. Due to a rise in the water level of the Hindon River in Noida, several houses were submerged in the low-lying areas on Saturday. The police reached the spot on Saturday and issued an alert regarding the situation.

After July 13, the Yamuna had been receding gradually after reaching an all-time high of 208.66 meters. Still, there have been marginal fluctuations in the water level over the last two-three days. The water level dropped below the danger mark at 8 pm on July 18 after flowing above the threshold for eight days. The river breached the danger mark at 5 pm on July 10, leading to extensive flooding of the national capital.

Due to the increase in the water level of the river, several places in Delhi grappled with water-logging and flood-like situations.