Heavy rain continues to lash Gujarat, causing road closures, flooding in cities

VALSAD: Gujarat continues to experience heavy rainfall, causing significant disruptions and damage across the state. In Valsad, severe flooding has led to the closure of two main underpasses, with the city receiving 3.45 inches of rain in just two hours on Tuesday morning.
The police have placed barricades to prevent access to the flooded underpasses, and waterlogging has affected the service road of National Highway 48 in the city.

Junagadh district has also been heavily impacted, with many roads, including two national highways, closed on Monday due to heavy rain. District authorities have reported the closure of three state highways, six major district connecting roads, and 40 panchayat roads due to flooding.
"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," said JP Zala, Junagadh deputy collector.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted that parts of south Gujarat and Saurashtra may receive very heavy rains in isolated places on July 2, while heavy rain is expected to lash several parts of north Gujarat, central Gujarat, and the Saurashtra region.
On July 3, the IMD has forecasted very heavy rains in "Surat, Navsari, Valsad, Daman, and Dadra Nagar Haveli.
The wet spell in Gujarat is attributed to two cyclonic circulations over the north and south 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 rain has caused damage to many roads in the state. In Ahmedabad Smart City, a massive sinkhole resembling a meteor crater formed when a portion of a road caved in during heavy rainfall at Shela. Waterlogging and uprooted trees have also been reported in several places in Ahmedabad, with vehicles being damaged in KK Nagar.
In a separate incident, part of the canopy at the passenger pickup and drop-off area of Rajkot airport collapsed on Saturday. According to Ministry of Civil Aviation sources, the canopy broke during maintenance work to push out accumulated water. Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident, and a detailed report has been requested.