Ahmedabad, 28 Aug

Rain-related incidents claimed nine more lives in Gujarat, taking the death toll to 16 in two days, while another 8,500 people were relocated and rescued from flood-affected areas with rains continuing to lash some parts of the state for the fourth consecutive day on Wednesday, officials said.

Authorities are carrying out relief and rescue operations involving the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), its state counterpart SDRF, the Army, the Indian Air Force and the Indian Coast Guard, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi called up Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel to take stock of the situation and to ensure Centre's support in the crisis.

A total of nine people died in rain-related incidents, such as collapse of walls and drowning, in different parts of the state on Tuesday, an official release said. On Monday, seven people died in similar incidents in the State.

Three people died after a wall collapsed in Anand district on Tuesday. Two others died in Mahisagar district, and one each in Kheda and Ahmedabad districts due to wall collapse incidents. One person each drowned in Junagadh and Bharuch district, it said.

A total of 169 people, a majority from Kheda and Morbi district, were rescued on Tuesday, officials said. Another 8,460 were evacuated and shifted to safer places, it said. These included around 3,000 from Navsari and around 1,000 each from Vadodara and Kheda.

With this, over 15,000 people have been evacuated in two days - Monday and Tuesday. The death toll in rain-related incidents has risen to 16 in these two days, the officials said.

CM Patel said in a post on X, "Hon'ble Prime Minister Narendra Modiji had a telephonic conversation with me about the heavy rain situation in Gujarat and got details of the relief and rescue operations."

PM Modi provided guidance on protection of lives and livestock, and assured all necessary support and assistance from the central government, he said. "Hon'ble Prime Minister is constantly monitoring the situation by showing concern about Gujarat. He has a deep affection in his heart for the people of Gujarat. During natural calamities and whenever needed, he always stands by Gujarat and the people of the state, providing warmth and invaluable guidance," Patel added.

Several districts of Saurashtra region, especially Devbhumi Dwarka, Jamnagar, Porbandar and Rajkot received very heavy rainfall in 24 hours ending 6 am on Wednesday, the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) data showed.

Khambhalia taluka of Devbhumi Dwarka district alone received 454 mm rainfall, followed by Jamnagar city with 387 mm rainfall, and Jamjodhpur taluka in Jamnagar with 329 mm rainfall.

As many as 13 out of the state's 251 talukas received over 200 mm rainfall, and another 39 over 100 mm rainfall during this period, throwing life out of gear and inundating low-lying areas.

While rains took a pause in Vadodara, flooding in Vishwamitri rivers caused several low-lying areas of the city inundated with the NDRF, SDRF and other agencies carrying out rescue and relief operations.

As many as five columns of the army were deployed in Morbi, Anand, Devbhumi Dwarka, Rajkot and Vadodara each to carry out relief and rescue operations, officials said.

As per an official release, 137 reservoirs and lakes, and 24 rivers in the state were flowing above the danger marks, causing flooding in low-lying areas.

Rains also disrupted the movement of traffic and trains as roads and railway lines were flooded. As many as eight trains, including Mumbai-bound Vande Bharat Express, were cancelled and 10 other trains partially cancelled, the Western Railway said in an update.

With the latest spell, Gujarat has so far received 105 per cent of its average annual rainfall, with Banaskantha being the most rain-deficient among all 33 districts. Banaskantha has recieved 73 per cent of average annual rainfall, the SEOC said.