New Delhi: The Ministry of Home Affairs on Sunday formed an Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) to evaluate the impact of unprecedented rainfall and flooding in Gujarat. The IMCT will be headed by the executive director of the National Institute of Disaster Management.
According to an official statement, the team will soon travel to the flood-affected regions of Gujarat, which experienced heavy to extremely heavy rainfall between August 25 and 30 due to a deep depression that developed over Rajasthan and Gujarat. At least 47 people have lost their lives in rain-related incidents in the state so far.
MHA maintaining close communication
The Ministry of Home Affairs is maintaining close communication with senior officials in other states too and will deploy IMCTs to those regions if severe damage is reported. This monsoon season, several other states have also been impacted by heavy rainfall, floods, cloudbursts, and landslides.
The statement further read that the central government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is fully committed to providing all necessary assistance to the affected states.
In accordance with a decision made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in August 2019, the Ministry of Home Affairs has this year constituted IMCTs that have already visited flood and landslide-affected states such as Assam, Kerala, Mizoram, and Tripura for on-the-ground damage assessment without waiting for a formal request from the state governments.
More rains in the coming days in Gujarat
An IMCT has also been formed for Nagaland, which will soon visit the affected areas of the state.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued warnings for more severe weather conditions in Gujarat amid a well-marked low-pressure system from the Bay of Bengal. The state might receive heavy to very heavy rains for some days. Regions like Navsari, Valsad, Vadodara, and Chhota Udepur, have been placed on high alert for intense rainfall.
Meanwhile, the IMD reported that a deep depression over Gujarat has intensified into a cyclonic storm named ‘Asna,’ and is moving towards the Oman coast.