Gujarat Floods

Currently, my work at ESI has been put on hold. Heavy monsoon rains have fallen all over India. This has lead to flooding in various regions and dams reaching full capacity. To prevent dam failure, governments have had to release unprecedented amounts of water which has led to massive flooding downstream, Surat was amongst some of the places worst hit by the floods. Surat was flooded not because of heavy rains in Surat, but due to the release of water from the dam and high tide, the city was hit with a large influx of water and no place for it to go.

Over the last few days, due to heavy rains in Rajasthan, water was released from the dam upstream of Ahmedabad. Given the flooding downstream, the amount released was reduced, but heavy rainfall between the dam and Ahmedabad led to dramatic rises in the water level. Lower lying areas of Ramapir no Tekra were flooded again yesterday and the damage was worse than that on Sunday. Currently relief work in underway and I'm in the midst of writing up on my experiences.