Gujarat rain highlights: NDRF rescues 3 people including pregnant woman in Mocha

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.

It also predicted heavy to very heavy rains at a few places with isolated extremely heavy rainfall in Devbhumi Dwarka, Rajkot, Bhavnagar and Valsad districts in the next 24 hours.

The NDRF called off the search operation in landslide hit Raigad Sunday, in which 27 people died. 57 people are still untraceable, officials said, adding that no body was found from the debris on Sunday.

At least 16 people were killed in rain-related incidents in parts of Vidarbha region of Maharashtra in the last 10 days, where nearly 4,500 houses were damaged due to heavy rains.

The IMD said, "one cyclonic circulation over south Gujarat, is persisting there for last 2-3 days, giving a lot of rainfall in south Gujarat region mainly in Daman, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Valsad and Navsari. We are expecting fairly widespread rainfall in south Gujarat."

Severe water-logging occurred in Maharashtra's Bhiwandi following heavy rainfall which led to cars being half submerged in water.

As flood waters receded on Sunday in the rain-battered Junagadh district of Gujarat a day after torrential rains, efforts are being made to restore normalcy, officials said. Nearly 3,000 people have been shifted to safer places in the district.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday spoke to Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and enquired about the flood-like situation in parts of the state.

The weather department issued a yellow alert for heavy rainfall in isolated places in Mumbai for Monday.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an orange alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall in isolated areas in Palghar, Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri, and Sindhudurg districts for Sunday.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday predicted moderate spells of rain to likely occur at isolated places of Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri, Raigad districts during the next 3-4 hours.

The death toll from a massive landslide in Maharashtra's Raigad jumped to 27 on Sunday. About 50 people are still believed to be missing.

"Heavy to very heavy rainfall will occur in Gujarat in next 24 hours. There will be a drastic decrease in rainfall from day after tomorrow," says Ahmedabad IMD officer Abhimanyu Chauhan, as reported by PTI. 

Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhai Patel Airport in Gujarat was reportedly flooded with knee-high water on Saturday night after incessant rainfall across the state in the last two days. Several social media users, including Congress leaders, shared videos which showed the airport purportedly flooded, with runways and terminal areas submerged under water. Read more

Heavy to very heavy rains pounded several districts in Gujarat's south and Saurashtra regions on Saturday, triggering a flood-like situation in urban areas and isolating villages amid rising water levels in dams and rivers surging to danger levels.

In Junagadh city, dozens of parked cars and cattle were swept away in gushing waters after it received 241 mm of rainfall in just 12 hours till 8 pm on Saturday. People were seen wading through waist-deep water to shift to safer places. Some of them were rescued by volunteers as they were carried away in strong currents.

A father-son duo drowned after their car got washed away near Silvassa town of Dadra and Nagar Haveli district in the Union Territory neighbouring Gujarat. The two were caught by fast-moving waters on Friday night when they were trying to cross over a low-lying bridge.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and other agencies resumed the search and rescue operation for the fourth day on Sunday at Irshalwadi village in Maharashtra's Raigad district where a massive landslide led to the death of at least 27 people, officials said.

According to an NDRF official, no body was recovered so far after the search and rescue operation resumed in the morning.

The death toll in the landslide mounted to 27 on Saturday while 81 persons are yet to be traced, officials earlier said.

Mumbai's water situation has seen a significant improvement with the collective water stock in its seven reservoirs reaching 47.54 percent, at 6,88,142 million litres, as of Saturday morning, the data issued by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) showed.

Heavy rains lashed parts of Maharashtra leading to severe waterlogging in multiple areas on Saturday.

Severe water-logging also occurred in Bhiwandi following heavy rainfall which led to cars being half submerged in water.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall in isolated areas in Palghar, Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri, and Sindhudurg districts for Sunday.

The weather department has also issued a yellow alert for heavy rainfall in isolated places in Mumbai for today.

Heavy to very heavy rains pounded several districts in Gujarat’s south and Saurashtra regions on Saturday, triggering a flood-like situation in urban areas and isolating villages amid rising water levels in dams and rivers surging to danger levels.

In Junagadh city, dozens of parked cars and cattle were swept away in gushing waters after it received 219 mm of rain in 8 hours till 4 pm on Saturday. People were seen wading through waist-deep water to shift to safer places, while some of them were rescued by volunteers as they were carried away in strong currents.

With heavy rains lashing Maharashtra's Yavatmal, Mi-17 V5 helicopter has been inducted from Nagpur to evacuate 40 people who have been stranded due to floods.

"Based on the requisition of the District administration, one Mi-17 V5 helicopter is being inducted from Nagpur to evacuate 40 people stranded due to floods in Yuvatmal district," said Wing commander (Wg Cd) Ratnakar Singh, Defence PRO Nagpur.

With heavy rains lashing Maharashtra's Yavatmal on Friday night, many residential areas in the district were inundated, and water also entered several houses on Saturday.

On Saturday, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray met residents of Irshalwadi. He said people living in landslide-prone areas in Maharashtra should be moved to safer locations. “Not just Irsahlwadi. All such localities should be rehabilitated in nearby villages or areas,” he said. The former chief minister said he had planned a scheme to rehabilitate villages residing in landslide-prone areas to safer places.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and other agencies resumed the search and rescue operation for the fourth day on Sunday at Irshalwadi village in Maharashtra's Raigad district where a massive landslide led to the death of at least 27 people, officials said.

According to an NDRF official, no body was recovered so far after the search and rescue operation resumed in the morning.

The death toll in the landslide mounted to 27 on Saturday while 81 persons are yet to be traced, officials earlier said.