The flood situation in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh was grim Tuesday, with lakhs of people being evacuated to safer places in both states even as a high alert was declared in Maharashtra's Marathwada and Vidarbha regions where 70 people have died in rain-related incidents over the past three days.
More than 1.90 lakh people were evacuated from different parts of south Gujarat, including Surat city, as major rivers flowed above the danger mark and authorities released waters from swollen dams. Sixty per cent of Surat was submerged under water and the situation was expected to worsen as the administration had released over 10 lakh cusecs of water from Ukai dam, said Gujarat Agriculture Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama, who was camping on the outskirts of Surat.
Thousands of people in many parts of Surat left their homes after water was released from the dam, officials said. The flood situation in Vadodara too was grim, with the Vishwamitri river flowing five feet above the danger mark. In Maharashtra, rains subsided in several areas including Mumbai.
In Andhra Pradesh, the situation remained grim for the sixth day, with the floods claiming 106 lives and leaving a trail of destruction in the coastal belt and Telangana region. Hundreds of villages in East Godavari, West Godavari and Khammam districts remained cut off and helicopters were used to drop food and water packets to the affected people. Over 31 lakh people in 5,412 villages in 16 districts have been affected by the rains and floods while a preliminary estimate put crop and property losses at Rs 112.31 crore.