Over 160 out of 250 talukas in Gujarat have received rainfall in last 24 hours, with Bhavnagar's Mahuva recording 170 mm of rainfall till 7 am on Wednesday. Gujarat is expected to receive unseasonal rainfall till Sunday. On Wednesday, Khambhat recorded 102 mm rainfall in six hours followed by Bhavnagar at 76 mm, Bavla (69 mm), Vadodara (67 mm), Borsad (64 mm), Lathi (61 mm), Anand (60 mm), Vadgam (59 mm), Nadiad (59 mm), Garudeshwaer (55 mm), Mahudha (54 mm), Savarkundla (54 mm), Lilia (49 mm), Amreli (47 mm), Dholera (47 mm), Tarapur (47 mm), Hansot (47 mm), Galteshwar (46 mm), Tilakwada (46 mm), Bagasara (44 mm), Ghogha (43 mm), Anand (43 mm), Mangrol (41 mm). Ahmedabad residents woke up to flooded underpasses and uprooted trees leading to traffic snarls, as the city recorded an average of 27 mm rainfall within two hours till 8 am on Wednesday. The district irrigation department on Wednesday morning issued an alert, stating water will be released from the Vasana barrage. "It is necessary to release water from the Vasana Barrage located on the Sabarmati River. Therefore, in the coming time, water will be released into the lower reaches of Vasana Barrage as per the requirement," it read. Authorities concerned and all the villages affected by the flood were directed to be informed and take appropriate safety measures. The weather department has attributed the unseasonal rainfall to "upper air cyclonic circulation and two troughs over northeast Arabian sea to cyclonic circulation over West Madhya Pradesh across Gujarat along with an east-west trough from southwest Rajasthan to north Jharkhand across cyclonic circulation over northwest Madhya Pradesh, East Madhya Pradesh and north Chhattisgarh". The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a moderate thunderstorm with lightning and surface wind 50- 60 kmph (in gust) accompanied with moderate to heavy rain warning for Thursday in districts of Sabarkantha, Aravalli, Anand, Mahisagar, Bharuch, Valsad, Rajkot, Amreli, Bhavnagar, Gir-Somnath, Banaskantha, Patan, Mehsana, Gandhinagar, Kheda, Ahmedabad, Panchmahal, Dahod, , Vadodara, Chhota Udepur, Narmada, Surat, Dang, Navsari, Tapi, Surendranagar, Jamnagar, Porbandar, Junagadh, Morbi, Dwarka, Botad. The intensity of rainfall and thunderstorms is expected to reduce to light and moderate from May 9 to 11, when lightning and surface wind at 40- 50 kmph (in gust) accompanied by light to moderate rainfall are expected. As per the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC), the unseasonal rainfall and thunderstorm has already claimed 14 lives in the state till Tuesday afternoon.
