2017 Gujarat flood
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Following heavy rain in July 2017, the Indian state of
Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
was affected by severe flooding. The floods were reported to have caused total 224 deaths between 1 June and 31 July 2017. 16 people had died in neighbouring
Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...
state by 31 July.


information

The monsoon season in Gujarat typically starts in mid-June. In the 2017 season low pressure systems developed over the
Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...
and the
Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between ...
simultaneously, resulting in heavy rainfall. Moderate rain began across the state on 14 July, and heavy rains fell from 21 to 25 July.


Flooding of Gujarat

According to the
Indian Meteorological Department The India Meteorological Department (IMD) is an agency of the Ministry of Earth Sciences of the Government of India. It is the principal agency responsible for meteorological observations, weather forecasting and seismology. IMD is headquarter ...
data, between 1 and 28 July, Gujarat received 559.4 mm of rainfall, as against the average of 339.6 mm for the said period, representing an excess of 65%. The districts of
Banaskantha Banaskantha district is one of the thirty-three districts of the Gujarat state of India. The administrative headquarters of the district is at Palanpur which is also its largest city. The district is located in the Northeast of Gujarat and is pre ...
, Patan,
Gandhinagar Gandhinagar (, ) is the capital of the state of Gujarat in India. Gandhinagar is located approximately 23 km north of Ahmedabad, on the west central point of the Industrial corridor between Delhi, the political capital of India, and Mu ...
,
Morbi Morbi or Morvi is a city in the Morbi district in the state of Gujarat, India. It is situated on the Kathiawar peninsula. , the city's population was determined to be 194,947. The city is on the Machhu River, from the sea and from Rajkot. H ...
,
Surendranagar Surendranagar Dudhrej is a municipality in Surendranagar district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Gujarat. Dudhrej municipality is directly connected with Wadhwan city and Wadhwan municipality. Etymology Dudhrej was o ...
,
Mehsana Mehsana (), also spelled Mahesana, is a city and municipality in Mehsana district, in the Indian state of Gujarat. Established in 14th century, the city was under Gaekwads of Baroda State from 18th century to the independence of India in 1947 ...
and
Sabarkantha Sabarkantha district is one of the 33 districts of Gujarat state of India and is located in the northeastern part of the state. The administrative headquarters of the district are located in Himatnagar. Geography Sabarkantha District is bounded ...
received 267%, 208%, 189%, 174%, 172%, 130% and 115% respectively of their average rainfall for the same period. The districts in north Gujarat received more than 200 mm of rainfall in 24 hours on 24 July.
Dhanera Dhanera is a city in Banaskantha district in the northern part of the state of Gujarat, India. Longitude 240 – 310 degree North and latitude 120 – 020 degree east. It is close to the city of Deesa.Dhanera is an ancient part of Gujarat. Form ...
recorded 235 mm rainfall in six hours on 24 July resulting in severe flooding.
Deesa Deesa is a city and a municipality in the Banaskantha district in the state of Gujarat, India. History Deesa is situated on the east banks of the river Banas. Deesa was an estate and thana ( faujdari/thanedari ) ruled by the Mandori (Jhalori) ...
recorded 269 mm rain while
Idar Idar may refer to: People * Idar Andersen (born 1999), Norwegian road racing cyclist * Idar Kreutzer (born 1962), Norwegian businessperson * Idar Kristiansen (1932–1985), Norwegian poet, novelist, short story writer and non-fiction writer * ...
recorded 151 mm on 25 July. Sabarkantha received highest rains in Gujarat at 219 mm, followed by Banaskantha with 150 mm. It was close to the heaviest rainfall in 112 years in the affected region. As of 1 August, at least 224 people had died in floods in Gujarat since 1 June due to rain-related causes. Among them, 61 deaths were recorded in Banaskantha, 18 in Ahmedabad, 14 in Surendranagar, 11 in
Chhota Udaipur Chhota Udaipur is a town and a municipality in Chhota Udaipur district in the state of Gujarat, India. It is the headquarters of Chhota Udaipur district. History Chhota Udaipur was originally ruled by Bhil king , The last Bhil king of Chhota ...
, 10 in
Surat district Surat is a district in the state of Gujarat, India with Surat city as the administrative headquarters of this district. It is surrounded by Bharuch, Narmada (North), Navsari (South) districts and east Tapi district To the west is the Gulf of C ...
. As of 31 July, 16 people had died in neighbouring
Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...
state. More than 4,000 cattle died in Banaskantha district. The electricity supply to 753 villages were cut off. The road and rail transport were also affected. Over 370 roads, including six National Highways, and 153 State Highways and 674 Panchayat roads were flooded and closed for vehicular traffic. The damage is assessed at for National Highways and for State Highways. 11 out of 20 trains operating between Mumbai-Delhi were cancelled due to damage to tracks near
Palanpur Palanpur is a city and a municipality of Banaskantha district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Palanpur is the administrative headquarters of Banaskantha district. Palanpur is the ancestral home to an industry of Indian diamond merchants. Ety ...
. 915
GSRTC Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation, abbreviated GSRTC, is a Government State Transport Undertaking of Gujarat for passengers facilitating with road public transport in moffusil / city services. GSRTC operates within the state of Gujarat, I ...
bus trips were cancelled in northern districts. There was breach in
Narmada Canal The Narmada Canal is a contour canal in Western India that brings water from the Sardar Sarovar Dam to the state of Gujarat and then into Rajasthan state. The main canal has a length of ( in Gujarat and then in Rajasthan). It is the second long ...
near
Thara, Gujarat Thara is census town in Banaskantha district Banaskantha district is one of the thirty-three districts of the Gujarat state of India. The administrative headquarters of the district is at Palanpur which is also its largest city. The distric ...
in Banaskantha. The runway of Ahmedabad airport was damaged and two
Air India Air India is the flag carrier airline of India, headquartered at New Delhi. It is owned by Talace Private Limited, a Special-Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of Tata Sons, after Air India Limited's former owner, the Government of India, completed the sa ...
flights were diverted. As of 26 July, of the 203 dams and reservoirs in state, 38 were full, 19 were filled to between 80 and 90% of their capacity, 15 to between 70%–80% and 130 were filled to less than 70% capacity. 25% of
Kharif crop Kharif crops, also known as monsoon crops or autumn crops, are domesticated plants that are cultivated and harvested in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh during the Indian subcontinent's monsoon season, which lasts from June to November depending o ...
sowing in Gujarat, especially and Saurashtra and north Gujarat was lost.


Relief and rescue

More than 113,000 people were evacuated to safety and more than 17,000 of them were rescued with the help of the
Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...
,
Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...
(IAF), the
Border Security Force The Border Security Force (BSF) is India's border guarding organisation on its border with Pakistan and Bangladesh. It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) of India, and was raised in the wake of the 1965 war on 1 December 1 ...
(BSF), the
National Disaster Response Force The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is an Indian specialized force constituted "for the purpose of special response to a threatening disaster situation or disaster" under the Disaster Management Act, 2005. The "Apex Body for Disaster M ...
(NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF). Ten IAF helicopters, five Army columns, 18 BSF teams and 32 teams from the NDRF, 11 teams from the SDRF and the local teams were deployed for rescue and relief operations. Over 2,000,000 food packets were distributed in affected districts in north Gujarat. 12,000 people were moved to safety and at least 100 people were rescued in Rajasthan. 90 relief camps were set up for affected people. The electricity supply was restored in 700 villages. More than 1,500 sanitation workers were deployed in Banaskantha and Patan districts to prevent outbreaks. And more than 10,400 carcasses were disposed. Around 2
lakh A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). In the Indian 2,2,3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. For ex ...
cusecs (5,700 m3/s) of water was released from Dantiwada Dam on the
West Banas River The West Banas is a river in western India. It originates from the southern Aravalli Range, in Sirohi District of the state of Rajasthan. It flows south, draining the valley between Mount Abu on the west and the easterly ridge of the Aravallis on ...
due to heavy inflow from Rajasthan. Dharoi Dam also released water 1.3 lakh cusec (3,700 m3/s) of water in Sabarmati River, thus submerging the lower promenade of
Sabarmati Riverfront Sabarmati Riverfront is a waterfront being developed along the banks of Sabarmati river in Ahmedabad, India. Proposed in the 1960s, the construction began in 2005. Since 2012, the waterfront is gradually opened to public as and when facilities ...
in
Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...
. Vasna Barrage was open to release water from the river. The
Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...
announced an interim relief package of . It is also announced that
ex gratia (; also spelled ''ex-gratia'') is Latin for "by favour", and is most often used in a legal context. When something has been done ''ex gratia'', it has been done voluntarily, out of kindness or grace. In law, an ''ex gratia payment'' is a paymen ...
of be given to the next of kin of the deceased and to people seriously injured in the floods.


See also

* 2017 Northeast India floods * 2017 West Bengal floods * 2021 Saurashtra flood


References

{{Disasters in India in 2017
Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
Gujarat flood Banaskantha district July 2017 events in India 2017 South Asian floods Floods in Gujarat