Gujarat is facing heavy rainfall, resulting in severe disruptions and damage throughout the state. Valsad has been particularly affected, with severe flooding leading to the closure of two major underpasses after the city received 3.45 inches of rain within two hours on Tuesday morning. Barricades have been set up by the police to block access to the inundated underpasses, and waterlogging has impacted the service road of National Highway 48 in the city.
In Junagadh district, heavy rain has caused significant disruptions, closing numerous roads, including two national highways, on Monday. Authorities have reported the closure of three state highways, six major district connecting roads, and 40 panchayat roads due to flooding. JP Zala, Junagadh’s deputy collector, stated, “Three state highways in Junagadh have been closed. Once the water level goes down, the situation will be under control. In low-lying areas, we have issued alerts and closed waterlogged roads.”
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecasted very heavy rains for parts of south Gujarat and Saurashtra on July 2, while heavy rain is expected to impact various areas of north Gujarat, central Gujarat, and the Saurashtra region. For July 3, the IMD predicts very heavy rain in “Surat, Navsari, Valsad, Daman, and Dadra Nagar Haveli.” The persistent wet weather in Gujarat is due to two cyclonic circulations affecting the northern and southern parts of the state, according to the IMD.
A ‘red alert’ has been issued for several districts, indicating extremely heavy rain in Surat, Navsari, and Valsad in south Gujarat, as well as Jamnagar, Porbandar, Junagadh, Dwarka, and Kutch in the Saurashtra-Kutch region. The continuous rainfall has damaged many roads across the state. In Ahmedabad, a large sinkhole resembling a meteor crater formed when a portion of a road in Shela caved in during heavy rainfall. Waterlogging and uprooted trees have also been reported in various parts of Ahmedabad, with vehicles being damaged in KK Nagar.
Separately, part of the canopy at the passenger pickup and drop-off area of Rajkot airport collapsed on Saturday. According to sources from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the canopy broke during maintenance work to remove accumulated water. Fortunately, no injuries were reported, and a detailed report has been requested.