Ahmedabad | Santalpur and Radhanpur talukas in Patan district of Gujarat received more than 340 mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours ending 6 am on Saturday, even as overall intensity of wet spells reduced.

Authorities are, however, bracing for fresh downpours with the Met Department issuing red and orange alerts for the next two days in parts of the state. Simultaneously, relief and restoration works continued in affected districts to bring back normalcy.

Patan, Vav-Tharad and Kheda districts were battered by heavy rains in the last 24 hours ending 6 am, with Santalpur and Radhanpur talukas in Patan recording 381 mm and 342 mm of rainfall, respectively. Bhabhar in Vav-Tharad received 287 mm of rainfall during this period.

The rain intensity reduced between 6 am and noon, with Kaprada in Valsad district, Deodar, Lakhani and Rah in Vav-Tharad district, and Dhanera in Banaskantha district recording 56 mm, 50 mm, 47 mm, 46 and 45 mm of rainfall, respectively, according to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC).

In the 24 hours till 6 am on Saturday, rains covered 34 districts, with 173 talukas receiving more than 250 mm of rainfall, the SEOC said.

Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed for rescue and relief operations in Vav-Tharad and Patan districts.

Ahmedabad, which was severely affected by heavy wet spells, is slowly limping back to normalcy. Three teams each have been deployed in Navsari and Ahmedabad districts.

Altogether 18 teams of NDRF and 32 teams of SDRF have been moved to affected districts. At many places, the Army and Coast Guard have joined relief and rescue operations.

In Ahmedabad's Dholka taluk, 103 people stranded in flood water were evacuated by an NDRF team, officials said. Another operation saw National Disaster Response Force personnel rescuing 120 people and evacuating 43 others from villages in Navsari district.

The NDRF has retrieved two bodies from these villages, officials said.

According to officials, 35 people from 10 families were evacuated to a safe place in Chhansara village of Santalpur taluka of Patan district. Several approach roads connecting villages were cut off, and efforts were being made to restore them.

As per the figures shared by the authorities on Friday evening, more than 40,000 people were moved to safer places, and another 2,637 were rescued after rains pounded south Gujarat over the last two days.

With flood waters receding, a survey is being conducted to assess the damage caused to crops, houses and public properties. Debris is being cleaned and pesticides sprayed in the affected areas to prevent the spread of water-borne diseases.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for Surendranagar, Gandhinagar, Kheda, Mehsana, Sabarkantha, Mahisagar, and Aravalli districts, and an orange alert for Ahmedabad, Anand, Vadodara, Chhota Udepur, Amreli, Bhavnagar, Morbi, Rajkot, etc. for Saturday, indicating heavy to extreme rainfall and strong winds.

Rains are likely to ease from Sunday; however, an orange alert remains for Vav-Tharad, Banaskantha, Sabarkantha, Mehsana, and Bhavnagar.