The flood situation in Gujarat has worsened due to continuous rains. Cyclone Asna has made the situation even more serious. At least 40 people have died and more than 55,000 people have been displaced in 25 districts of the state due to heavy rains and floods since August 25. At the same time, a study by IIT Gandhinagar has revealed that in 12 out of 33 districts of Gujarat, the total rainfall in a day was more than the period of 10 years.
The IMD has issued a red alert for places like Bharuch and Valsad. From 6 am to 6 pm on Tuesday, Valia in Bharuch recorded the highest rainfall of 156 mm. It was followed by Netrang at 127 mm, Surat’s Umarpada at 105 mm, Valsad at 104 mm and Jotana in Mehsana at 95 mm.
The IMD said that light to heavy rains are expected to continue in the state till the end of this week. More than 15,000 villages in the state are facing power cuts. Cyclone Asna has worsened the flood situation in Gujarat.
At the same time, a study by the Machine Intelligence and Resilience Laboratory (MIR Lab) at IIT Gandhinagar found that 12 out of 33 districts of Gujarat received more rain in a day than a period of 10 years. In 17 districts, the total rainfall in two days was recorded to be more than a period of 10 years. In Jamnagar, Morbi and Devbhoomi Dwarka, the level of rainfall has so far been more than the limit of 50 years. In three days, 15 districts have reported more rain than a period of 10 years.
Udit Bhatia, principal investigator at MIR Lab, said there is a need to understand the nuances of urban flooding. The granularity of data may not fully capture the nuances of urban flooding as it often results from short-duration, high-intensity rainfall that overwhelms city drainage systems.
The IIT study cited Vadodara as a relevant example of this phenomenon, where it experienced severe flooding after just three days of rainfall. It said this suggests that although the rainfall was not unprecedented, factors such as extensive urban development in flood-prone areas, changes in land elevation and blockage of drainage systems due to rapid urbanisation contributed to the flooding.
The recurrence of such extreme weather events along the west coast of India underlines the urgent need to rethink urban planning and infrastructure resilience, the study said.
