The courtesy deep depression over Kutch, state of Gujarat is deluged in the last week or so. The low-pressure area, which earlier formed over the Bay of Bengal, travelled across Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan as depression and deep depression. It nearly became stagnant over South Rajasthan and adjoining Kutch to lash the entire state of Gujarat with a heave to extremely heavy rains between the 24th and 29th of August. The intensity and spread of rains have reduced today and will weaken further on the weekend, Saturday and Sunday.
The deep depression has intensified into a cyclonic storm, Asna. Mercifully, the storm is drifting away from the coastline of Gujarat and entering the Northeast Arabian Sea. The heavy rainfall belt will also shift. The western parts of Saurashtra and Kutch, which were battered repeatedly over the last 3-4 days have finally had some respite. However, the devastation and the damage on account of extremely heavy rains, overflowing of dams and reservoirs, flooding of rivers and canals, and inundation of roads and fields is nothing short of a catastrophic calamity. Rescue and rehabilitation to return to normalcy will be a herculean task over several weeks, from now.
Saurashtra and Kutch are drought-prone pockets and invariably lack monsoon rains. More so, Kutch is a semi-arid region and even Saurashtra, is only a shade better. However, defying the norms, the entire state has rained extremely heavily over the last week. After witnessing severe drought during August 2023, the state has broken the record of the last 4 years. The month of August, last rained heavily in 2020 and nearly a lull, thereafter.
The cyclonic storm will move further away from Gujarat's coastline. Weather conditions will improve significantly over the weekend. However, all is not yet over and done. Another system is brewing in the Bay of Bengal. Another round of heavy rains is likely for the state, commencing mid-week next and peaking on the weekend, around 07-08 September 2024.
Image Courtesy: NPR