Gujarat braces for Cyclone Asna as several towns, villages face deluge

Although rainfall has stopped in the flood-hit Indian state of Gujarat, many towns and villages are still suffering from water logging due to high water levels of the rivers, reported news agency ANI, on Friday (Aug 30).

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) alerted on Friday that the heavy rains and floods in the coastal state have now escalated to Cyclone Asna. This cyclonic storm in the Arabian Sea became the first after 1979.The name Asna wasgiven by Pakistan.

According to the weather department, the cyclone will be moving towards the west-northwestward over the northeast Arabian Sea, far from the Indian coast. This will occur over the next two days.

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Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said that he andPrime Minister Narendra Modi had a discussion over the phone about the flood situation and ongoing measures to be taken for the victims. The call took place on Thursday (Aug 29) morning.

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Amit Arora, a Kutch collector, sent a message advising the residents of Abdasa, Mandvi, and Lakhpat to leave their houses and take shelter in schools or other strong buildings after the IMD’s cyclone warning. He suggested the locals provide shelter to those in need.

IMD scientist Ramashray Yadav said, “Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar are likely to experience light to moderate rainfall today, while Kutch received heavy rainfall over the last 24 hours. The state has received 882 mm of rainfall since June 1”.

Six columns of the Indian Army have been deployed in thestate'sworst-affected areas forrescue operations.

A team of 350 sanitation workers from Surat has been allotted to Vadodara to help in cleaning the chaos caused by the flood.

Vadodara was among those areas that witnessed massive flooding due to the Vishwamitri River. However, the situation there as of Friday isreportedly returning to normal as the water from the river isreceding. The water level of the riverdropped from 37 feet to 32.

The heavy rainfall and flood situationin Gujarat hasresulted in over 26 fatalities in the past four days. Up to 18,000 people have been saved from the affected areas, and 1,200 people have been moved from their residences.

The State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) has asserted that they even took assistance from helicopters when needed.

Devbhumi Dwarka district was severely affected by the rain in the last two days. The areas including Dwarka, Okha, and Jam Raval are still underwater, according to reports.

The 10 villages around the Jambusar and Amod talukas have been flooded since Thursday after the water overflowed from the Dhadhar River.

(With inputs from agencies)