Gujarat: Heavy rains lash some areas, five NDRF teams moved to Surat, Banaskantha, Rajkot

AHMEDABAD: Heavy rains lashed parts of south Gujarat and Saurashtra regions, causing a flood-like situation in the affected areas, prompting the deployment of five National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams in Surat, Banaskantha and Rajkot districts, officials said on Sunday.

Parts of Navsari and Tapi districts in south Gujarat, as well as Devbhumi Dwarka, Junagadh and Jamnagar received heavy rainfall in the 24-hour period ending 6 am on Sunday, with the state's 30 talukas receiving rainfall of over 50 millimetres, the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) said.

Parts of Narmada, Bharuch, Surat and Vadodara were among those that received good rainfall during the day, it said.

With the India Meteorological Department predicting heavy to very rainfall in some isolated pockets of Gujarat over the next five days, the NDRF moved five of its teams to Surat, Banaskantha and Rajkot districts as "pre-monsoon deployment" from its base in Vadodara, the agency said in a Twitter update.

One team each has been moved to Surat and Banaskantha, and three to Rajkot, the specialised relief and disaster combat agency added.

Navsari witnessed major waterlogging, leading to traffic jams and blockage of underpasses.

In Junagadh and Devbhumi Dwarka, monsoonal rivers received water and so did local dams, officials said.

As per the SEOC, over a 24-hour period ending at 6am, Vansda taluka of Navsari district received 136 mm rainfall, Khambhaliya in Devbhumi Dwarka got 114 mm rainfall, while it was 106mm in Manavadar in Junagadh, and 98 mm in Dolvan in Tapi.

The IMD had, on Saturday, said the southwest monsoon had covered and was active over Gujarat region, with light to moderate rain very likely over the next five days.