Heavy Rain Floods Ahmedabad Again as Red Alerts Cover Eight Gujarat Districts

Heavy Rain Floods Ahmedabad Again as Red Alerts Cover Eight Gujarat Districts

Heavy rain hit parts of Gujarat for the second time this week. The spell began on Thursday night. Streets in Ahmedabad filled with water. Roads closed. Trees came down.

The weather office put red alerts on Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Mehsana, Aravalli, Sabarkantha, Mahisagar, Anand, and Kheda. It also forecast moderate rain with thunderstorms through Friday afternoon.

Peak-hour traffic took the brunt in the city. Officials shut at least four underpasses after they filled with water. The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation later reopened the Shahibaug underpass. Mithakhali, Usmanpura, and Akhbarnagar underpasses, which link large parts of West Ahmedabad, stayed closed.

Rain was widespread. Of 34 districts, 32 recorded an average of 8.69 mm in the previous 24 hours. Daily life slowed in several places. Some planned events were cancelled or delayed.

From Thursday 6 a.m. to Friday 6 a.m., 150 talukas received rain. Totals ranged from 0.04 mm to 131 mm. Maliya in Morbi district led with 131 mm. Danta in Banaskantha recorded 91 mm. Shankheshwar in Patan received 85 mm. Dwarka in Devbhumi Dwarka got 71 mm. Bechraji in Mehsana recorded 65 mm.

The season total for Gujarat now stands at 779.41 mm. That is 85.79 percent of the 30-year average. Most of the state is still short of a normal year. South Gujarat is the exception, at 112.6 percent of average. Kutch is at 57.1 percent. North Gujarat and Saurashtra are both at 66.6 percent. East-central Gujarat is at 85.7 percent. Porbandar, Jamnagar, and Devbhumi Dwarka remain among the driest districts.

Friday morning brought another burst. Between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m., Meghraj taluka in Aravalli recorded 73 mm. Ahmedabad city received 70 mm. Talod in Sabarkantha and Modasa in Aravalli each logged 57 mm. Kheralu in Mehsana recorded 51 mm.

Public programmes also shifted. Viramgam MLA Hardik Patel postponed two events in his constituency: a stroke-awareness camp and a groundbreaking ceremony.

Reservoirs had already gained about 3 percent after 48 hours of rain earlier in the week. They still sat about 13 percent below last year’s levels. Officials asked residents to avoid flooded underpasses and watch for further thunderstorms through Friday.