AHMEDABAD: Even as severe rainfall continued to devastate various parts of the state, the India Meteorological Department has issued a cyclone alert on Friday.
A deep depression over the Gujarat coast is set to advance westward into the Arabian Sea, where it is anticipated to strengthen into a cyclone, the IMD said.
This warning comes as flooding across western India, triggered by relentless rains, has already claimed at least 36 lives and displaced more than 32,000 people. and around 1,200 have been rescued from flood-impacted regions within the state.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a warning about a deep depression over the Kutch region that could intensify into Cyclone Asna, a rare August storm.
This developing system, currently churning over the Saurashtra-Kutch region of Gujarat, is expected to move over the Arabian Sea by Friday and head towards the Oman coast.
If it intensifies into a cyclonic storm, it will be named Cyclone Asna, following a suggestion from Pakistan. This would be an unusual occurrence, as only three cyclonic storms have formed over the Arabian Sea in August from 1891 to 2023.
The IMD forecasts that the depression will move west-southwestwards, emerging over the northeast Arabian Sea near Kutch and the Pakistan coast before intensifying into a cyclonic storm on Friday.
The State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC) reported heavy rainfall in Gujarat, with Mundra taluka in Kutch district receiving the highest rainfall at 26 mm between 6 am and 2 pm, followed by Veraval in Gir Somnath (18 mm), Dwarka in Devbhumi Dwarka (16 mm), and Anjar taluka in Kutch (15 mm).
Vadodara city, previously flooded due to the overflowing Vishwamitri river, is gradually returning to normal as water levels recede, according to city officials.
The Vishwamitri river, which had surged above the danger mark at 37 feet, was down to 23.16 feet on Friday. Of the 6,073 people evacuated, 1,610 have returned home, the release stated.
In Kheda district, while no new rain was reported, the Shedhi river's surge caused flooding in parts of Kheda town and nearly 20 villages in the surrounding talukas.
Devbhumi Dwarka district, which faced extremely heavy rainfall, still has flooded areas in Dwarka, Okha, and Jam Raval, said Collector GT Pandya.
“Pumps have been installed to drain water from buildings, and the Vartu dam's overflow is contributing to waterlogging, though flow levels are decreasing. Power has been restored to 111 out of 132 villages that experienced outages,” Pandya added.
The Rajkot Division of Western Railway (WR) cancelled three trains on Friday due to waterlogging in the Dwarka-Gorinja section.
In Bharuch, about ten villages in Jambusar and Amod talukas remain submerged since Thursday due to water from the swollen Dhadhar river.
At least 36 people have lost their lives in rain-related incidents across the state.The floods have displaced over 32,000 people across state, with around 1,200 rescued from flood-hit areas across the state.