2019: When Unprecedented Extremely Heavy Rains and Flooding Vishwamitri Stalled the City of Vadodara for 5 Days

September 21, 2024
Gujarat Vadodara

(The artwork above was created during the 2019 floods by the talented young designer Harshshiv Solanki, based in Vadodara)

Japan K Pathak

The year 2019 flood in Vadodara was a 34.50 ft level flood, a half a ft more than the 34 ft flood witnessed in 2014 monsoon. The city witnessed unprecedental nearly 20 inches rainfall in less than a day period. There was lack of specific alert for this rainfall from the IMD in advance. Extremely heavy rains in the city, coupled with very heavy rainfall of 7.44 inches in Ajwa dam’s catchment areas Halol resulted into a flood that stalled the routine life of the city for not just one or two days but for five days. The government and the local administration in practice and perception tackled the crisis well.

IMD forecast 

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had not started issuing Red, Orange and Yellow alerts district-wise in its bulletin then.  IMD had in its bulletin given a broad forecast regarding possibilities of extremely heavy and very heavy rainfall in parts of Gujarat, but Vadodara and Panchmahal were not mentioned specifically in the bulletin. Instead, the bulletin had predicted extremely heavy rains likely in the North Gujarat and South Gujarat regions.

IMD in its bulletin dated July 29th, 2019 stated – ” Morning’s cyclonic circulation over South Rajasthan and the neighborhood, extending up to 3.6 km above mean sea level and tilting southwestwards with height, persists. The monsoon trough at mean sea level continues to pass through Jaisalmer, Bhilwara, Guna, Umaria, Pendra Road, Sambalpur, Chandbali, and then southeastwards to the east-central Bay of Bengal, extending up to 2.1 km above mean sea level. The trough from South Rajasthan to Odisha across Madhya Pradesh and North Chhattisgarh, extending up to 7.6 km above mean sea level and tilting southwards with height, persists.”

With these three systems active, the forecast predicted heavy to very heavy rains at isolated places, with isolated extremely heavy falls in the districts of the Gujarat region during July 29 to August 2. The forecast did not specifically predict heavy rain in either Vadodara or Panchmahal during these days.

Then Vadodara witnessed extremely heavy rainfall on July 31, that brought flood. After the rainfall, IMD Ahmedabad Centre Director attributed the Vadodara rainfall to Cyclonic Circulation. A day after historically high rainfall in Vadodara, IMD in its August 1 bulletin specifically warned of heavy to very heavy rains in Vadodara and Panchmahal on August 1 and 2. But this warning proved false. There were no heavy to very heavy rains during August 1 and 2.  The IMD Bulletin on 1st August had stated : Morning’s upper air cyclonic circulation over northwest Madhya Pradesh and the neighborhood, between 1.5 and 3.6 km above mean sea level, persists. Morning’s trough from South Rajasthan to northwest Bay of Bengal across the cyclonic circulation in northwest Madhya Pradesh and the neighborhood, south Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Gangetic West Bengal, between 3.1 and 5.8 km above mean sea level, tilting southwards with height, persists.

More articles of this series – (1) Vishwamitri has long history of flooding Vadodara; Campbell in 1883 wrote that it ‘frequently overflows in monsoons’

(2) Ajwa Dam was built based on annual average 39 inches rain in Vadodara; it’s now 42.24 inches and rising

(3) 1927 flood of Vishwamitri in Vadodara attracted global attention amid reports of Ajwa dam burst and 1000 deaths

(4) More Vishwamitri floods in Vadodara in 20th & 21st centuries; highest rain of June on record in 2005 caused first flood of century

(5) 2014 was a lackluster monsoon for Vadodara, but then came a surprise as September brought flood

July 31st

The city of Vadodara had 499 mm, or a whopping 19.64 inches, of rainfall in 24 hours on 31st July. Of this, 16 inches of rain fell just in 6 hours during 2-8 pm. Just imagine that the total rainfall of the city till now in 2019 was 35.66 inches, and just on 31st July, in 24 hours span, it was nearly 20 inches. In fact, the total rainfall in 2019 Vadodara city was 1978 mm (77.87 inches), meaning over one-fourth of the total year’s rainfall was received within less than 24 hours on July 31st.

In addition to this, Halol in Panchmahal received 189 mm of rainfall, meaning 7.44 inches in the same 24-hour period. Combination of extremely heavy rainfall in Vadodara city and Halol taluka resulted in sudden rise in Ajwa reservoir’s level and subsequent flood.

The city of Vadodara first suffered from waterlogging due to extra-ordinary high rainfall. And the city suffered further due to the rise in Vishwamitri level following the release of water from Ajwa dam due to rainfall in Halol.

As the day progressed and afternoon arrived, the city was hit by a heavy downpour, with 16 inches of rain falling in just six hours. There was water logging across the city. MGVCL implemented power cuts in most areas. Traffic jams were witnessed across the city in the evening. Schools were declared shut for the next day, and courts were also declared shut. MS University asked students not to appear the next day. The transportation system collapsed. Due to waterlogging, the airport was declared shut. Airlines like Air India offered free rescheduling to passengers. 100s of people were stuck at the railway station due to waterlogging outside and cancellation of trains following overtopping of flood water on the tracks. A huge traffic jam of hours was witnessed on the national highway. A passenger reported it was four hours of congestion and still continuing.

Vadodara Municipal Corporation(VMC) declared helpline numbers. The Twitter account of VMC was buzzing and replying the citizens round the clock.

That day of 31st July was Wednesday. The rainfall stopped late in the evening. Then Chief Minister Vijay Rupani moved two IAS officers, Vinod Rao and Lochan Sehra, from the capital Gandhinagar to Vadodara. The National Disaster Response Force deployed three rescue teams in the Vadodara region.

At 7.20 pm, Vishwamitri’s level was 23 feet but was fast rising, while Ajwa Dam’s water level was 210.50 feet. But the rise in Vishwamitri’s level was worrying as it was very speedy. At just 6 pm, it was 17.5 ft. Mayor Jigisha Sheth told media persons at Kala Ghoda that the situation was unprecedented and the increase in level of Vishwamitri was very rapid.

Meanwhile, 62 gates of the Ajwa dam were opened for the release of surplus water after the level at Ajwa crossed the 212-foot mark. It’s worth noting that the permitted rule level of Ajwa before August 15 is 211. At 10.30 pm, Vishwamitri’s level in Vadodara was 28.5 ft, which was 2.5 ft above the danger level but 1.5 ft below the flood level. By 11 pm, Vishwamitri was at 29 feet. Vishwamitri crossed a flood level of 30 feet before midnight.

1 August

Water level in Ajwa dam also crossed the permitted level of 211 ft, and 62 gates of the dam were opened after 212 level. At 1.30 am, Ajwa level was 212.25 ft, and Vishwamitri level was 31 ft.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani held a high-level meeting to review the flood situation in Vadodara just around midnight. In his briefing, he said Vadodara had the highest rainfall, which was around 20 inches during 2 pm to 10 pm. It was like the sky fell down in Vadodara. Luckily, rain had stopped for the last hour, but Ajwa dam was overflowing. The city water was in the river, and Ajwa Dam’s water added to it. We are trying that balance is maintained and Vishwamitri doesn’t overflow, but if water released from Ajwa arrives, the level of Vishwamitri would go up. And therefore, for tonight, I request the people in low lying areas to shift to safer places. Power supply was on in 80 percent of areas of Vadodara, but 20% of the of the area had power cut due to the feeder submerged in water. Control rooms are functional. Fire brigade and SDRF teams are deployed. NDRF has reached there. Though the airport runway has water atop it, the Indian Air Force is also ready.

Meanwhile, evacuation was underway in Vadodara city and district. And as per the government, over 4,000 were evacuated as of 1.30 am on 1st August. The rainwater was already present across the city, and now, in addition to that, the floodwater from the river Vishwamitri started arriving after 30 feet level of Vishwamitri. The people didn’t get time enough for shifting, and neither the situation favored them. Sama Savli Road, Urmi School Area, etc. were first to bear the flood around midnight.

Former Vadodara Municipal Commissioner Vinod Rao, speaking to the Indian Express, said any city that receives 500 mm of rain within hours would be flooded. In fact, in a whole year, 1,200 mm of rain is what Vadodara’s storm water drains are built to handle. While flooding should have receded by Thursday, overflow from Ajwa reservoir due to heavy rains in the upper catchment areas of Panchmahal and parts of Vadodara district has kept the water rising, he added. Rao also suggested there was a need to clear the encroachment around River Vishwa-mitri, and divert the water before it enters Vadodara city to the River Mahi, along with raising the height of bridges on the Vishwamitri.

River overflow happened at around 3 am, as per the then Police Commissioner Anupam Singh Gehlot in talk with News24. At 4 am, the level crossed 33 ft in Vishwamitri. By 5 am, all bridges over the Vishwamitri were closed, and people were advised not to do movement outside.

With the Prime Minister’s intervention, NDRF teams were airlifted from Pune for flood-hit Vadodara.

Four columns of the Army were deployed in the city. The Army trucks shifted the people stuck as the city’s railway station to another place. At one place, Army jawans themselves got stuck with their vehicle in high-water. They were rescued by NDRF jawans then.

On 1st August, Vadodara received 32mm (over one inch) rainfall, but Halol received 158mm rain (6.22 inch) (in 24 hours ending at 6 am on 2nd August). So Ajwa Dam added even more water on 1st August and sent it to Vishwamitri in Vadodara.

Photographs and video of police jawan Govind Chavda went viral as he rescued a toddler in a basket atop his head through flood water. Chavda was a police sub-inspector at Raopura police station. He was carrying a month-old girl from Devpura settlement near Vishwamitri railway station on Thursday morning in chest-high gushing waters. Chavda held a baby wrapped in a blanket of cloth in a basket on his head and protected her using one hand, while the other hand was used to clutch the rope. The water current was strong, said Chavda later, speaking to the media. Raopura police inspector BG Chetariya said his staff evacuated 73 people from the Devpura area.

At 4 pm, the airport resumed operations. An Indian Air Force helicopter was the first to land at 4.30 pm, followed by another IAF chopper and two flights carrying passengers from Delhi. An IAF C-130 Hercules aircraft also landed at night with NDRF teams from Pune. The boundary wall of the airport was collapsed. The airport took the help of VMC to drain out rainwater. The airport had remained dysfunctional for around 24 hours.

People in many areas came out to buy milk during the afternoon at around 4 pm, and there were long queues for that. Milk vans of Baroda dairy were stranded at Kalali, Mujmahuda, Akota, Jetalpur, Karelibaug, Sama, and other areas. Around 70,000 liters of packed milk returned to the dairy due to flood waters and waterlogging. Cattle rearers sold milk at higher prices in some areas.


As there was no power, the pumping system had failed, and therefore the people used rainwater for their daily needs. The photographs above are from the Chhani area, where buckets were filled with rainwater for home use.

Tortoises, rabbits, and porcupines were shifted to safer locations in Sayajibaug Zoo on Wednesday night itself.

As of 7.30 pm, MGVCL had partially restored power in the city. Of the 48 feeders that were shut down a day ago in the evening as precaution, 28 were restored. The 20 feeders that were still submerged were mostly in the eastern part of the city.

District Collector Shailini Agrawal, who was in charge of the city municipal commissioner’s post, was in Delhi on the flood day. As per a news report in Gujarat Samachar dated 3rd August, Agrawal had left for Delhi on 31st July morning. With the flood situation, she returned to Ahmedabad in flight and reached Vadodara at 11 p.m. The situation of the district was meanwhile handled by the Resident Additional Collector of Vadodara and the Police Commissioner.

Sandesh newspaper Vadodara edition reports that in the absence of Municipal Commissioner and District Collector, the then Chief Minister Vijay Rupani called city Police Commissioner Anupam Singh Gehlot and asked him to handle the situation. The Police Commissioner immediately called a meeting of police officials and handed over responsibilities. Police started rescue and evacuation operations in low-lying areas before NDRF and SDRF teams could step in. All police inspectors and police sub-inspectors were sent to their respective areas with rescue equipment. A separate control room was set up in the police control room, and DCP Manish Singh was assigned the specific duty of focusing on phone calls to identify where rescue operations were needed in priority. A map was prepared to identify the areas that would need help in priority.

August 2nd

It was August 2, and the city was still flooded.

At 2 am, Vishwamitri was at 34.5. Ajwa was just 0.10 feet down and at 212.30 feet. At 5.30 am, Vishwamitri was still at 34.50, while Ajwa was a bit further down at 212.25. At 8 am, Vishwamitri was at 33 feet, down by 1.50 feet in a great relief to some areas. Ajwa was at 212.20 feet. Some bridges were reopened in the city, however, Kala Ghoda and Bhimnath were still kept closed for traffic.

At 10.22 am, Vishwamitri was further down to 32.50 ft, while Ajwa was at 212.15. Water level receded in many areas, still, in New Sama, it was ankle-to-knee derp at places. At 11.50 am, Vishwamitri was down to 32.30 ft while Ajwa was 212.10 ft.  At 1 pm Ajwa was at 212 ft, Vishwamitri at 32 ft.

Water continued to recede slowly and gradually through the day, and at 10 p.m., Ajwa level was 211.85 ft against 211.90 ft at 8 p.m. Vishwamitri was at 30 ft level at 8 pm, which was a great relief, as most areas are inundated at 31 ft.

It was then Chief Minister Vijay Rupani’s birthday on 2nd August. He visited Vadodara on his way to Rajkot. He, along with then Dy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, held a meeting and also interacted with some flood-affected people. Rupani announced cash-dole to those who were evacuated during the rescue operations. He also announced compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of those who died in rain-related incidents. Rupani also announced that electricity supply in most of the areas in the city would be resumed by Friday afternoon. He also said that issues related to drinking water would also be resolved in flood-hit areas.

“The situation is getting back to normal quickly due to a decrease in the level of the Vishwamitri and Ajwa dams. Efforts are on to resume water and electric supply. All the feeders would be started by 12 pm on Friday,” Rupani told reporters in Rajkot on Friday morning. “The family members of those four people who died when a wall collapsed in the Chhani area of the city (Vadodara) due to heavy rain would be given financial assistance of Rs four lakh each,” he added, as reported by news agency UNI.

Prime Minister Narendrabhai Modi had phone called Rupani in the morning and inquired about the Vadodara situation. PM also assured all helps from the Center.

Dy CM and Health Minister Nitin Patel visited Sayaji Hospital. Gujarat BJP chief Jitu Vaghani also visited the flood-hit areas of the city.

Police registered an FIR against Sujay Amin, an owner of the house in the Chhani area where the dilapidated compound wall collapsed, killing four people. The death toll touched eight due to flood as a laborer, Ashok Rawal, drowned inside his house in Salatwada in the morning. Another person, Narsinh Padhiyar, also slipped inside his house in flood water. A person, Mukesh Parmar, fell into a storm water drainage line in the Fatehpura area and was missing.

Around 25 patients and 100 staff members of Rhythm Hospital on Sama-Savli Road who were stranded for 48 hours were rescued by the NDRF team. A number of rescue efforts were reported from across the city. There was rain in the afternoon, but the sky soon cleared. The city had 34 mm of rainfall from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Addressing a press conference in the capital Gandhinagar, Chief Secretary JN Singh said, “The Gujarat Chief Minister has been monitoring the situation in Vadodara. Till now, there are about 11 teams of NDRF, which include teams that have been flown in from Pune following the intervention of the Prime Minister. Almost 7,000 people have been rescued, and 4,000 people have been shifted to safer places. A total of 840 pregnant women were among those to be shifted to different hospitals in the city. Although the trains going to Delhi and Mumbai have started, the Mainline Electric Multiple Unit (MEMU) trains are yet to begin operations.The Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) services have also begun, and the National Highway between Ahmedabad and Mumbai has been cleared for traffic. 98 additional medical teams have been sent to Vadodara city.”

Speaking to the Indian Express, Singh said that “the government has decided to resolve the flooding of Vishwamitri for the long term with a ‘big plan’. We are serious about this issue. The flooding in the city is because while Vadodara itself received almost 500 mm rain in one day, Halol in Panchmahal simultaneously received close to 171 mm,” he said. “Water has receded in many parts, but Vishwamitri is plagued with encroachments, and there will be a big project that we are taking up to avert this situation in the future.”

Singh said, “The water which had come from Ajwa was not as much as the rain received in Vadodara itself. So, the reservoir is not responsible for this flooding. The storm water drainage network is an issue in the city, and we are making a medium- to long-term plan for the same.”

Avoid driving in water-logged area where water height is above the center of the tyre. In case the vehicle is submerged in water do not try to crank or push-start the engine. Even one attempt can cause major damage inside engine.#VadodaraRains #Vadodaraflood #Vadodara

— Jigar Shah (@jigar_online) August 2, 2019

After crocodiles and snakes, even a catfish was found in the flood at a place in Vadodara.

Railway’s Divisional Manager was seen visiting his staff colony in a makeshift raft in a video.

DRM of #Vadodara railway division @DRMBRCWR leads his team on plastic drum boats to provide relief material to nearly 47 families of #railway #staffers who are stranded on the upper floors of quarters at #Vishwamitri railway #colony @WesternRly @TOIVadodara @timesofindia pic.twitter.com/Ui9IRarSvD

— Prashant Ruperra (@PrashantrTOI) August 2, 2019

August 3 and after

While the flood water receded in most areas, nearly 17,000 residents continued to face power cuts in their houses that had started on Wednesday (31st July). By evening, power resumed for 12,500. The Gujarat government, in a release, stated that all 292 feeders in Vadodara city were charged by Saturday (3rd August) morning. Of the 8,200 transformers, 117 were yet to be restored till Saturday morning. 34 of them were to be attended in the evening. These transformers were in waterlogged areas and could be restored only after water receds. 92 teams were on the task of power restoration. The city had over 7.23 lakh power consumers. Complaints numbers were 18002332670 and 19124. 540 transformers were charged in the previous 24 hours, and 1063 complaints were attended. The areas affected were Akota, Gorwa, Fatehgunj, Manjalpur, Lalbaug, Wadi, Karelibaug, Dandia Bajar, Sama, and Alkapuri subdivisions.

On 3rd August, there was a heavy to very heavy rainfall forecast by IMD, and the level of the river Vishwamitri was 29 ft in the city. Fortunately, the level didn’t go beyond the flood level of 30 feet.

Heavy rains expected: High alert for the coming 36 hours in #Vadodara | Stay indoors, stay safe #VadodaraRains @CollectorVad @CMOGuj @Vadcitypolice @pkumarias

— VMC VADODARA (@VMCVadodara) August 3, 2019

Vishwamitri went down to 28.15 ft level while Ajwa was at 211.60 ft. post 6.30 pm. The situation normalized gradually, and after a lot of cleaning and other restoration works through Sunday, the schools and colleges were declared reopened from Monday. Vishwamitri’s water level went down to 24 ft, below the danger level of 26 ft while Ajwa’s water level was down to 211.55 ft on Sunday. VMC’s tankers were rushed to the areas where water supply couldn’t resume. By August 10, nearly Rs. 6 crore of cash doles were distributed among affected people. According to Nidhi Dave, Range Forest Officer, as many as 52 crocodiles from Vadodara district were rescued and released after the flood.

वडोदरा के बाढ़ग्रस्त क्षेत्रों में खाद्य एवं राहत सामग्री वितरित करते राष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ के स्वयंसेवक।#Vadodaraflood #Vadodarafloods #Vadodara #Vadodararain #vadodaradistrict pic.twitter.com/n4An8WoVPA

— India Social Game (@IndiaSocialGame) August 2, 2019

The services by RSS, Reliance, Cricketer Yusuf Pathan, Haridham Sokhda were notable during the flood. Traffic Police men were on the road, wearing raincoat even during the rains. The Chief Minister’s personal touch and direct communication through videos gave an impression that the government was there taking care and Vadodara is under focus. VMC and Police helplines would reply the citizens even at odd hours round the clock. Even tweets were being replied by VMC in deserving cases. The only point to cricitize the government in the newspapers was that the people were nor informed in advance about opening of gates of Ajwa dam. The city Mayor Jigishaben Sheth was in command and thanks to her good and clear communication skills she could face the reporters and reply convincingly about the decisions and actions. She could analyze and present the situation well before the cameras. Dy CM Nitin Patel and Chief Secretary JN Singh also communicated well. Police Commissioner Anupam Singh Gehlot and District Collector/Municipal Commissioner Shalini Agrawal were also good communicators.

On the ground action part, the timely deployment of Army, NDRF, SDRF gave an impression that government was in full action-mode to help the people. Number of photos and videos of rescue operations by these forces went viral on social media.

In the next couple of articles of this series we shall discuss a 37 ft flood of August 2024 and possible practical remedies against floods for the administration as well as the citizens of Vadodara.  DeshGujarat

#Flood #Japan K Pathak #Vadodara Vishwamitri series #Vishwamitri #Vishwamitri River

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