Heavy rains lash Gujarat; flood situation improves in Assam

NEW DELHI: Heavy rains battered Gujarat, causing a flood-like situation, while in neighbouring Maharashtra the intensity of rains reduced on Monday, even as the flood situation improved in Assam, where one person lost his life in the deluge.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the monsoon remains “vigorous” and heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely in parts of Gujarat in the next three days and moderate rains in parts of Maharashtra.

Due to heavy rainfall in Gujarat, a nearly 30-year-old bridge over a river in Junagadh district caved in, a local official said, adding that no one was injured.

A team of the National

Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) was also deployed at the state's Khambhalia town to meet rainrelated exigencies in the area, officials said. Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan received light to moderate rainfall, while heavy rains lashed isolated places of these states.

In Delhi, sporadic light rains kept the mercury in check and more precipitation is likely in the next few days.

The Safdarjung Observatory, which provides representative figures for the city, recorded 0.6 mm rainfall and a maximum of 36.2 degrees Celsius, normal for this time of the year. The MET Department has forecast light to moderate rains, thundershowers, and strong surface winds in Delhi on Tuesday.

In Assam, one person was killed in the flood at Raha of Nagaon district, officials said. With this, the total number of people losing their lives in this year's flooding and landslide has gone up to 62 across the state, of whom 38 people were killed by flood and 24 died due to landslides.

According to the daily flood report of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), over 3.86 lakh people are affected due to floods in Dhemaji, Sivasagar, Biswanath, Chirang, Nalbari, Barpeta, Kokrajhar, Dhubri, Goalpara, Kamrup, Morigaon, Nagaon, Golaghat, Jorhat and Tinsukia districts.