By A one-month-old baby and family members were pulled to safety from a flooded home in Amalner, Jalgaon district, on Friday, after local fire brigade and municipal health teams carried out a rescue operation.
The district has recorded incessant rain over the past two days, logging 104mm overall, with Jalgaon city receiving 118mm, local reports said.
The Tapi River went into flood as water levels climbed, prompting authorities to open all 41 gates of the Hatnur Dam, while the Girna Dam filled to capacity and the Aner River saw its biggest flood in two years.
In Batsar, a separate rescue effort pulled eight people from rising floodwaters the same day, part of a wider emergency response across Jalgaon district.
The India Meteorological Department has issued an orange alert for Nashik and the Pune ghat area, with Sindhudurg, Satara, Kolhapur, Nandurbar, Wardha and Chandrapur under a yellow alert as the system continues across the state.
Maharashtra recorded an average of 51.09mm of rain in the last 24 hours and has received 104.1% of its normal rainfall for June and July 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
