Tropical depression floods Indian state of Gujarat

A tropical depression has been lashing the western Indian state of Gujarat for days.

While the wind is not particularly strong, the slow-moving circulation of thunderstorms has meant near continuous heavy or torrential rain.

Widespread flooding in the Saurashtra and Kutch regions of Gujarat has been reported.

It started raining in Dwarka on Saturday evening. A series of torrential bursts dropped 593mm (23 inches) of rain since then, three and a half times the July average rainfall.

Streets disappeared under half to one metre of collected water, submerging cars. Dwarka is an historic city towards the western end of Gujarat.

Water buffaloes were swept up in the flood that filled the streets of a village in the inland Rajkot district, which measured a rainfall of 318mm (13 inches) since Saturday.

According to India’s NDTV network, a 30-year-old masonry bridge over the Sabli River near Junagadh district was swept away, cutting off Bamnasa village.

The rain eased on Wednesday. Despite the deluge, the Saurashtra and Kutch areas remain deficient during the monsoon rainfall.

The remains of this depression will likely disappear over the Gulf of Kutch on Thursday, leaving another 100-200mm of rain in its wake.