A dramatic rescue took place in Amalner, Jalgaon district, on Friday, when the local fire brigade and municipal health department pulled a family, including a one-month-old baby, from a flooded home.
Jalgaon district has recorded incessant rain over the past two days, logging 104mm overall, with Jalgaon city receiving 118mm, according to local reports.
The Tapi River went into flood as water levels rose, prompting authorities to open all 41 gates of the Hatnur Dam, while the Girna Dam reached 100% capacity and the Aner River recorded its biggest flood in two years.
A separate rescue operation in Batsar pulled eight people to safety from floodwaters the same day, part of a broader emergency response effort across the district.
The IMD has placed Nashik and the Pune ghat region under an orange alert, with Sindhudurg, Satara, Kolhapur, Nandurbar, Wardha and Chandrapur under a yellow alert as the system continues across Maharashtra.
The state recorded an average rainfall of 51.09mm over the last 24 hours and has received 104.1% of its normal June-July rainfall so far this season.
Maharashtra has received 104.1% of its normal rainfall for the June-July period this year, according to IMD data, reflecting an active monsoon season across the state so far.
Jalgaon district, located in north Maharashtra along the Tapi river basin, is prone to flash flooding during heavy monsoon spells because of its low-lying agricultural terrain and dependence on dam-regulated rivers.
The Hatnur Dam and Girna Dam are among the major irrigation reservoirs on the Tapi and Girna rivers respectively, both of which serve as key water sources for agriculture across north Maharashtra.
Local fire brigade teams across Jalgaon district have been on standby through the current spell, responding to multiple waterlogging and rescue calls as rivers and dams fill rapidly.
The state government has directed district administrations in flood-affected areas to keep relief camps and emergency response teams ready as the monsoon system continues to move across Maharashtra.
Photo by Kumarrakajee, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
