Gaurav Khara
Others | Jun 24, 2025 | 15 min read
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Surat rain breaks 40-yr record
A sudden, intense rain spell on Monday morning brought Surat city to a standstill. Between 6 am and 8pm, the city recorded 9.53 inches of rainfall—the highest two-hour downpour in 40 years.
The deluge swamped roads, homes, shops and schools throughout the city. Unable to cope with the torrent, the stormwater drainage system—designed to handle only 1-1.25 inches per hour—failed completely. Water poured into basements and buildings while causing massive traffic jams across major roads.
By 6 pm, Surat had logged its highest single-day rainfall in seven years. Fire brigade teams rescued at least 112 people, including 14 hospital patients and several students trapped by rising waters.
Rescue ops launched
Five schoolchildren were pulled from a stranded van near the fire station. Two college girls received help reaching their exam centre on time. The education department declared a half-day for schools in affected areas and arranged safe transport for students.
Knee-to-neck deep water blocked several roads in Udhna Darwaja, Sayyadpura, Adajan, and Gujarat Gas Circle. All ST bus operations at Surat Central Bus Station were cancelled. This affected around 200 trips.
Official response coordinated
Municipal Commissioner Shalini Agrawal monitored the situation through CCTV from the city’s Integrated Command and Control Centre. By 4 pm, civic teams had cleared about 80% of water from main roads.
The weather department has forecast moderate rain with thunder in Surat district until June 29.
Surrounding areas also saw heavy rainfall: Kamrej (7.36 in), Palsana (6.29 in), Bardoli (4.80 in), Olpad (4.21 in), Mangrol (3.14 in), and Mandvi (3.03 in).
Tragedy struck in Mandvi when Ajay Vasava, 21, drowned while bathing in Amli dam. His body was recovered on Monday. The Ukai dam recorded an inflow of 22,479 cusecs and outflow of 800 cusecs. Its water level stands at 315.32 feet, still below the rule level.
A’bad gets 1.7-inch rain in 24 hours
Heavy to very heavy showers forecast across Gujarat for the next seven days; IMD warns of thunderstorms and gusty winds in several districts
Ahmedabad recorded 1.73 inches of rain in the 24 hours ending Monday morning. The downpour brought a welcome drop in the city’s temperature below normal levels. The maximum temperature fell to 33.4°C, a full 4.5 degrees below normal. Meanwhile, the minimum temperature settled at 26.5°C, about 1.1 degrees lower than usual.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast widespread rain throughout Gujarat. The wet weather will extend to Diu, Daman and Dadra Nagar Haveli over the coming week. All districts can expect light to moderate rain or thundershowers, including North Gujarat, South Gujarat, and the Saurashtra-Kutch region.
Parts of South Gujarat and Saurashtra-Kutch saw very heavy rainfall in the past 24 hours. Surat’s Palsana was drenched with 5.5 inches of rain. Nearby Kaprada in Valsad logged 4.7 inches. Jodia in Jamnagar topped the charts on the Saurashtra-Kutch side, where gauges measured a whopping 7.1 inches. Looking ahead, the IMD has put out warnings for the next 7 days. Heavy to very heavy rainfall will hit isolated places across Gujarat. Affected areas include Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Junagadh, Amreli, and Bhavnagar. Many regions should brace for thunderstorms with lightning and gusty winds reaching speeds of 30-40 km/h.
Since the monsoon kicked off on June 1, Ahmedabad has soaked up 5.9 inches of rain. This figure stands higher than the normal rainfall expected for this period.
