Over 9000 people evacuated from flood-hit areas of Saurashtra

Over 9,000 people from villages in Gujarat’s flood-ravaged Junagadh, Porbander and Jamnagar districts have been shifted to safer places by rescue teams since Thursday morning, officials said Friday. This include 400 people living on Rupen port, 800 people in Porbandar and 7883 people on Junagadh district.

National Disaster Management rescue teams from New Delhi has arrived in Junagadh to help with the rescue operations in the flood affected villages.

Army rescue teams have been deployed in the worst affected regions, while the state government has sent its own teams to the flood affected areas of Junagadh, Jamnagar, Veraval and Mangrol regions with boats and life saving equipment to evacuate those marooned on the rooftops of their houses.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) office in Ahmedabad has said extremely heavy rainfall would continue to lash parts of Saurashtra region Friday.

Relief operations in most parts of Junagadh district are being carried out by boats as bad weather has grounded helicopters.

In Dhoraji, schools are closed due to flood like situation, 31 out of total 38 dams in Jamnagar district are overflowing including the largest Ranjit Sagar dam. Another major dams such as Vartu 2 and Bhadar 2 are also overflowing. Upleta area’s Ganod village is out of reach due to flood waters in all directions.

The IMD has also warned of poor visibility and a very rough Arabian Sea both off the north and south Gujarat coasts Friday. Fairly widespread rainfall would continue in the western coast of India till July 29 and subdue thereafter, the weather officials said.