Gujarat faces heavy downpour and rescues after big rain deficit

Mandvi taluka in Kutch district, Gujarat, received around 177 mm of rain in just eight hours on September 15, causing widespread waterlogging and disrupting normal life. Until that point, the district had faced a 70% rainfall deficit. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported on September 15 that several parts of Gujarat, along with Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, received heavy rainfall ranging from 120 to 200 mm. Other districts of Gujarat also saw heavy rain in a few hours, notably during an El Niño year when rain deficit is a major concern. Umergam in Valsad district received 1,064 mm of rain in just one day on July 23, marking the third-highest daily rainfall ever recorded in the country. According to the IMD, the highest is Sohra at 1,563.3 mm on June 16, 1995, and the second is Aminidivi at 1,168.5 mm on May 6, 2004. The intense rainfall forced the state government to seek help from the National Disaster Response Force. Teams rescued 352 people in South Gujarat, and authorities shifted over 22,000 people in Navsari and Valsad to safer locations. Studies point to this pattern during El Niño years. A study published in the journal Science in 2025 used data from 1901 to 2020 to show that while El Niño events usually reduce total summer rainfall across India, they also increase the frequency of extreme daily rainfall events in certain areas. The Central Monsoon Zone in central India and the southwestern band between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats get less overall rain and fewer rainy days in El Niño summers, but the rain falls much more intensely when it arrives. Some studies suggest strong El Niño events may become more frequent in the future, which means extreme rainfall scenarios may also increase. India ranks among the six most disaster-prone countries globally. A report prepared for the 16th Finance Commission in 2025 stated that between 1993 and 2022, India experienced 400 extreme weather events, which caused 80,000 deaths and $180 billion in losses.