Heavy rains continued to pound several parts of Gujarat and some rivers were in spate in Navsari district where many areas went under knee-deep water, forcing authorities to evacuate more than 100 people, officials said on Thursday.
There was no immediate respite in sight as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted "heavy to very heavy rain" on Friday at several places across Gujarat, mainly in southern parts of the state and the Saurashtra region.
Since Thursday morning, significant rainfall was reported in south Gujarat's Navsari district, with Chikhli taluka receiving 209 mm between 6am and 4pm. Chikhli was followed by Gandevi (205 mm), Navsari taluka (187 mm), Vansda (157 mm) and Jalalpor (154 mm), a release from the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC) said.
Incessant showers have been lashing many parts of the state since the last four days.
Notably, Vansda taluka of Navsari district received a whopping 394 mm rainfall in the 24-hour period ended at 6 am of Thursday, said the release. Kaprada and Dharampur taluka in Valsad district received 377 mm and 340 mm rains, respectively, during the same period, it said.
With several areas of Navsari town and the district inundated, authorities, with the help of NDRF (National Disaster Response Force), rescued 108 persons from different parts of Chikhli and Vansada taluka and shifted them to safer places, said Gujarat Revenue Minister Rajendra Trivedi after meeting officials at SEOC in Gandhinagar.