19 dead, several injured as rains wreak havoc in Gujarat

At least 19 people were killed in the last 24 hours in Gujarat as the state reels under flood-like situation caused by torrential downpour.  

Eight labourers were killed after a compound wall collapsed near Umiya Circle in Morbi town's Kandla bypass road. A building in Kheda district Pragatinagar collapsed late Friday, killing 4 people, including a one-year-old child.

Nearly 60 percent of the reservoirs in Gujarat have reportedly been filled to their maximum capacity and 17 dams are overflowing due to the incessant rains. The Sardar Sarovar Narmada dam in Navagam was opened for the first time on Friday (August 09). Twenty-six gates out of 30 were opened to maintain the water level.

The people living in the downstream areas of Narmada, Vadodara and Bharuch have been alerted regarding potential flooding in the low-lying areas.

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said that the state received nearly 80 percent of the monsoon rains this season by Saturday evening. Around 6,000 people have been evacuated shifted to relief camps.

The District Magistrate of Vadodara, Shalini Agarwal, on Saturday said that the situation is normal as of now but there is a rain forecast. She said that the authorities are continuously monitoring the water level of Vishwamitri River. "We only would like to tell people, don't pay attention to rumours and stay safe," Agarwal was quoted as saying by ANI.

The state government has deployed 18 teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and 11 teams of State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for the rescue operations.