Heavy Rains In India: 70 Dead in Gujarat, Flood Alert In Jammu And Kashmir

Torrential rainfall in the western Indian state of Gujarat has killed 70 people so far, local officials announced Thursday. Amreli district was reportedly the worst affected area in the state with 26 deaths.

The Gujarat government also confirmed that five people were missing and about 23 houses were damaged, local news network Zee News reported. Three teams from the country's National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were reportedly deployed to the affected areas.

The Indian Air Force personnel rescued more than 100 people from various parts of Amreli, the Indian Express reported. About 48 people were saved in Amreli’s Gavadka village, including 23 passengers, the driver and the conductor of a transport bus -- which belonged to a different state -- that had been swept away.

According to official numbers, cited by the Press Trust of India, four died in Devbhoomi Dwarka district and three deaths each were reported in Bhavnagar, Junagadh and Surendranagar districts. Two deaths were registered in the districts of Dahod, Mehsana, Morbi and Surat, while one death each was reported in the districts of Kheda, Porbandar and Valsad.

At least 4,000 people were evacuated from 17 villages around the Bhadar dam in Jetpur district, according to the Indian Express. The NDRF and other emergency teams rescued about 90 people in Jetpur town.

Meanwhile, the government announced a compensation of 400,000 rupees ($6,288) to the families of the deceased. "In addition, we have also decided to give cash doles for the next ten days to people in affected areas," Nitin Patel, Gujarat's health minister, reportedly said.

The state government will also reportedly provide financial help to those people who lost their property and livestock due to the floods. "We have asked local administrations of the affected districts to carry out an extensive survey to determine the loss. We will provide financial aid to those who have lost crops, livestock, houses and other properties as per norms," Patel added.

The heavy rainfalls are a result of a deep depression over the Arabian Sea. The depression has now moved to the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, the Indian Express reported.

Meanwhile, in the north Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, flood alert was issued Thursday in Anantnag and Pulwama districts after the Jhelum River crossed the danger mark, Hindustan Times reported.

"As the water flows down from south Kashmir toward Srinagar, the water level in Srinagar is expected to go higher by afternoon. So we have asked all the people living on banks of the river or its tributaries to move to safer places," a senior official of the state's irrigation and flood control department told The Hindu.

Last week, heavy rains wreaked havoc in the country’s financial capital of Mumbai in the western state of Maharashtra, halting train and public services in the city. Between June 11 and June 24, the city reportedly received nearly 907 mm of rain, 155 percent above normal for the entire month.