Monsoon Rains: 18 including 6 children killed in rain-related incidents in Maharashtra, Gujarat | Updates

Gujarat has been experiencing incessant rainfall since the past one week during which more than 27,000 people have been evacuated.

A meeting to take stock of the situation was held on Tuesday at the State Emergency Operation Centere (SEOC) in Gandhinagar under the chairmanship of Relief Commissioner and Revenue Secretary, P. Swaroop.

Swaroop said that heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected in the Saurashtra-Kutch region and south Gujarat from July 13 to July 17.

Eight persons have lost their lives in rain-related incidents in Maharashtra's Thane district since the start of monsoon this year, an official said on Tuesday.

Three heads of cattle have also died while 49 houses have been damaged, chief of the Thane district disaster control cell Anita Jawanjal said.

"One person died in a river in Murbad, while two persons died in separate incidents when they were fishing in Sahapur. A 32-year-old man died while swimming in Chikoli dam, while two 18-year-old boys drowned in Kushiwali dam in Ambe," she said.

Heavy downpour continued in various parts of Gujarat on Tuesday and six people died in rain-related incidents in the last 24 hours, raising the toll to 69 since June 1, officials said.

A total of 27,896 people were evacuated from flood-affected areas and 18,225 of them remained in shelters while the others have returned home, state Disaster Management Minister Rajendra Trivedi said.

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel visited the rain-hit Bodeli town in Chhota Udepur district and also conducted an aerial inspection of some flood-affected areas, his office said.

While heavy rains continue to lash districts in south Gujarat since the last few days, parts of Kutch and Rajkot in the Saurashtra region also witnessed heavy showers since Monday night, officials said.

Heavy rains continued to lash parts of Maharashtra, leading to the death of three persons in related incidents over the past 24 hours and the evacuation of 95 people from flooded places, the state government said on Tuesday.

Thirteen teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and three of the State Disaster Response Force were deployed in vulnerable districts of the state, a disaster management department report said.

Heavy rains and strong winds lashed Mumbai and suburbs on Tuesday morning and flooded many parts of the city within a couple of hours, throwing road traffic out of gear at some places, officials said.

Amarnath yatra resumes from both Panchtarni & Baltal areas today after a gap of 4 days, thousands of pilgrims reach to worship.

A total of 13 NDRF teams and 4 SDRF teams have been deployed due to the rains in Maharashtra. So far, a total of 84 people have died due to rains, and 5968 people have been shifted to a safer place. In the last 24 hours, one person died, 180 animals have died, and a red alert has been issued till July 14 in Palghar, Nashik and Pune.

Input by reporter Rajeev

Two persons drowned in a river and as many others were rescued from different water bodies in three incidents in Maharashtra's Thane district, officials said on Tuesday. On Monday, 12 students went on a picnic to Malanggad fort in Ambernath area.

Heavy showers occurred at isolated places in east Rajasthan while a few other parts of the state recorded light to moderate rains, the weather department said. Mount Abu and Pratapgarh recorded a maximum of 8 cm of rainfall in a day.

People of Madhya Pradesh got some relief from rains on Tuesday, after continous downpour on Monday. As per the weather department, rains will batter the state again from July 15 to 17. 231mm of normal rainfall was recorded in MP from June 1 to July 13. Cloudy weather was seen in Sehore Khandwa, and rains lashed Hoshangabad.

Traffic congestion was seen on the roads of Mumbai on Tuesday, due to heavy rains. Due to the downpour on Mumbai's Western Express Highway, all vehicles from Andheri to Kherwadi faced severe traffic. The domestic airport also falls on this route. This traffic increased the difficulty of passengers catching their flights.

Input by reporter Jai Prakash

Schools and colleges were closed in Maharashtra's Nashik city on Tuesday following heavy rains over the last few days and people in flood-prone areas were asked to shift to safer places, officials said. The city received 97.4 mm rainfall in the 24-hour period till 8.30 am on Tuesday, but the rains later took a break, bringing some respite to residents, they said.

Waterlogging upto 0.5 feet was reported in parts of Mumbai, including Datta Ram Lad Marg , Sardar hotel, Bhoiwada, Neelam Junction and Hindmata Junction.

After continous heavy showers, rains finally stopped in some parts of Mumbai, leading to Andheri and Milan subways being opened for commute. The Andheri subway is used to travel from Andheri east to Andheri west, and the Milan subway is used to travel from Santa-Cruz east to Santa-Cruz west.

Input by reporter Jai Prakash

The first warning signal has been issued at Dowaleswaram Barrage near Rajamahendravaram in Andhra Pradesh as flood level in river Godavari rose to 12.10 lakh cusecs on Tuesday morning. State Disaster Management Authority Managing Director B R Ambedkar issued an alert asking people living in habitations along the Godavari course to be cautious and take precautionary measures in view of the surge in flood.

Heavy rains along with strong winds lashed Mumbai and its suburbs on Tuesday morning amid an 'orange' alert issued by the India Meteorological Department, civic officials said. There was no report of any major water-logging anywhere in the city so far, they said.

Five districts in Delhi have reported deficient rainfall this monsoon so far due to poor distribution of rains, according to India Meteorological Department data. On average, Delhi has recorded a rainfall deficiency of 23 per cent -- gauging 90.4 mm of rains as against a normal of 116.9 mm since June 1, when the monsoon season starts.

A red alert has been issued in parts of Maharashtra like Pune, Palghar, Nashik till July 14. Apart from that, a red alert has been issued today in Raigad, Gadchiroli, Ratnagiri and Kolhapur.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert in Mumbai till July 14. For the next 24 hours, moderate to heavy rain is expected in the city and suburbs.

At least 14 people were killed in rain-related incidents in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh and thousands were moved to safety as heavy downpour lashed parts of west and central India on Monday. 

Heavy to very rainfall is expected in Gujarat's Saurashtra today. During the last 24 hours, it rained in 245 out of 251 districts in Gujarat. The maximum 21.5 inches of rain fell in Dediapada taluka of Narmada district, the entire district received 16.5 inches of rain.

Input by reporter Nirnay Kapoor

There is a possibility of rain with thunder in all the districts of Uttarakhand, including Dehradun, Pauri, Champawat, Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar districts, said Met Centre, Dehradun.

Heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely in parts of Maharashtra other than Mumbai, like Raigad, the Ghat areas of Pune and Satara, Nanded, Hingoli, Parbhani, Latur during next 3-4 hours

Moderate to heavy rainfall is predicted in Mumbai and the suburbs today. Occasional gusty winds reaching 40-50 kmph are very likely, said IMD. A High Tide of 4.47 meters could be seen at 10:45 am in Mumbai.