AHMEDABAD: The death toll from heavy rains and flooding in Gujarat has risen to 35 over the past two days, as rainfall eased across the state and authorities shifted their focus to damage assessment and post-flood clean-up, officials said on Saturday.According to officials, 29 of the fatalities were reported from Valsad and Navsari, the two districts worst affected by the flooding. More than 7,000 people were rescued during the relief operations, while around 42,000 residents were moved to safer locations.With floodwaters gradually receding, district administrations have begun assessing losses to crops, homes and public infrastructure. Clean-up operations and pesticide spraying are also underway to reduce the risk of water-borne diseases.
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“A total of 35 rain-related deaths have been reported so far in the state in the last two days as bodies washed away in flood waters were recovered and missing persons were accounted for after the rain stopped and rescue operations concluded,” Relief Commissioner Gaurang Makwana said.Makwana said most of the deaths were caused by drowning or people being swept away by strong currents. He added that the highest number of rescues took place in Navsari and Surat, and that rescue operations were now nearing completion.To support relief efforts, 18 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and 32 teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) were deployed across affected districts, along with personnel from the Indian Army, the Coast Guard and local volunteers. Three NDRF teams each were stationed in Navsari and Ahmedabad.Navsari Collector Manish Gurwani said 19 bodies had been recovered in the district so far.“We relocated 14,000 people. There were 1,200 instances where the NDRF, SDRF, local swimmers, and district administration teams carried out special rescue operations. The Indian Coast Guard airlifted 60 persons, specifically shrimp farmers, from Mendhar-Gandevi,” Gurwani informed.In neighbouring Valsad, Collector Nitin Sangwan said rescue operations had been completed and officials had started surveying the damage from Friday.“Starting Monday, we will provide cash assistance, either via direct bank transfers or by handing over cash to those without bank accounts, to cover losses such as household items, wages (for up to three days), livestock deaths. Approximately 20,000 people were relocated or rescued during the operations, with the casualty count in the district standing at 10 so far,” Sangwan said.Heavy rain continued in parts of Gujarat during the 24-hour period ending at 6 am on Saturday. Patan, Vav-Tharad and Kheda were among the districts that received intense rainfall. Santalpur and Radhanpur talukas in Patan recorded 381 mm and 342 mm of rain respectively, while Bhabhar in Vav-Tharad received 287 mm.Between 6 am and 4 pm on Saturday, Kaprada and Nanapondha in Valsad, Deodar and Lakhani in Vav-Tharad, and Khergam in Navsari recorded between 46 mm and 71 mm of rainfall, according to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC).The SEOC said rainfall was recorded across 34 districts, with 173 talukas receiving significant precipitation during the previous 24 hours.Authorities also shifted additional NDRF teams to Vav-Tharad and Patan as a precaution due to continuing heavy rain.The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red alert on Saturday for Vav-Tharad, Banaskantha, Patan, Surendranagar, Mehsana, Kheda, Aravalli and Sabarkantha districts. The alert has been downgraded to orange for some of these districts on Sunday.Meanwhile, the NDRF evacuated 103 stranded people from Dholka taluka in Ahmedabad district and rescued 120 people while evacuating another 43 residents from flood-hit villages in Navsari. Rescue teams also recovered the bodies of two elderly people from the affected villages.Officials said 35 residents from 10 families were shifted to safety in Chhansara village of Patan’s Santalpur taluka, while the local school was evacuated as a precaution. Several village approach roads remain cut off, and restoration work is underway.
