Gujarat Rains: Massive sinkhole formed on road amid heavy rains in Ahmedabad
Jun 30, 2024
Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], June 30 : A massive sinkhole, resembling a crater created by a meteor strike, was formed when a portion of a road caved in during heavy rainfall at Shela in Ahmedabad Smart City.
A visual surfaced on social media that shows the middle of the road caving in the water flowing into the large cavity.
Meanwhile, the rainwater gathered in the underpass near Pathik Ashram was pumped out with the help of a water bowser.
Visuals show the underpass near Pathik Ashram flooded with rainwater.
Recent satellite imagery indicates the presence of convective clouds, signalling the possibility of light to moderate rainfall at many locations.
Meanwhile, waterlogging was reported in several places in the Ahmedabad city following heavy rainfall.
Videos showed cars and two-wheelers wading through knee-deep water on major roads.
There were reports of trees being uprooted and falling, damaging two cars in KK Nagar, Ahmedabad.
In its weather bulletin on June 30, the weather department forecast rainfall in all parts of Gujarat for the next five days and sounded an orange alert for five districts of the state on Sunday.
Speaking to ANI, IMD Scientist Pradeep Sharma said, "There will be rains in all parts of Gujarat in the next 5 days. A warning for very heavy rain is issued for Saurashtra and Kutch for today. An orange alert has been issued for Bharuch, Surat, Navsari, Valsad and Dadra Nagar Haveli."
Earlier on Saturday, part of the canopy collapsed at the passenger pickup and drop-off area of Rajkot airport.
According to Ministry of Civil Aviation sources, the canopy broke during maintenance work to push out water accumulated in the canopy. No one was injured in the incident, and a detailed report has been sought. Repair work is underway.
In a post on X, Rajkot airport authorities said that water accumulation was observed on the city side of the canopy at the terminal building at 11:40 am due to heavy rains.
"As we came to know about it, we informed the civil works department and the area beneath was cordoned off," said Rajkot International Airport in the post.
The international airport is located at Hirasar, about 30 km from Rajkot city.
"Around 11:55 am, more water accumulated on the canopy amid heavy rains, causing the canopy fabric to tear and fall. No casualties were reported in the incident. The airport civil team is removing the (damaged) canopy," they added.
Earlier in the day, IMD issued an alert for widespread rainfall and thunderstorms across several regions across India.
Intense spells of rain, accompanied by isolated thunderstorms, cloud-to-ground lightning, and gusty winds, are expected in Punjab and adjoining Himachal Pradesh, southwest and adjoining extreme northwest Madhya Pradesh, east Uttar Pradesh and adjoining extreme north Chhattisgarh, southeast Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, south Gujarat, south Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, south Karnataka, north Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, and Meghalaya, as per the IMD.
In addition to these areas, light to moderate rainfall is anticipated at a few places, with isolated thunderstorms, cloud-to-ground lightning, and gusty winds likely to affect Odisha, Konkan, Goa, south Madhya Maharashtra, Kerala, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Lakshadweep, and the Nicobar Islands.
Earlier this week, the national capital received the highest rainfall in 88 years.
According to the IMD, Delhi experienced 228 mm of rainfall from 8:30 am on Thursday, June 27, to 8:30 am on Friday, June 28. This is the highest 24-hour rainfall in June that the national capital has seen since 1936 when 235.5 mm was recorded.
IMD scientist Soma Sen on Saturday said that heavy rainfall is expected in Delhi over the next two days. (ANI
