Unrelenting monsoon rains battered Gujarat on Monday, plunging Surat into chaos as incessant downpours flooded streets, submerged vehicles, and forced schools to shut down, sparking widespread comparisons to the catastrophic 2006 floods that once crippled the city.

By noon, large parts of Dabholi, Varachha, and several other low-lying localities resembled waterlogged canals, with residents wading through knee-deep water and ground-floor homes inundated. Traffic snarls gripped major junctions, and commuters were seen stranded for hours in flooded lanes, as the municipal administration scrambled to deploy pumps and divert water.

In a worrying incident from Valsad, a van was reportedly swept away by the swollen Kharela River, raising concerns over the safety of rural transport in flood-prone areas. Rescue operations were immediately launched, with local authorities coordinating with disaster response teams.

The State Emergency Operations Centre reported that 159 talukas received light to extremely heavy rainfall in the past 24 hours. The worst-hit areas included Jodiya in Jamnagar with 7.17 inches, followed by Palsana (5.6 inches), Mendarda (5.7 inches), and Amirgadh (5.0 inches).

In view of the rising water levels, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert across several districts including Valsad, Navsari, Amreli, Bhavnagar, Bharuch, Dahod, Vadodara, and Panchmahal. A severe thunderstorm warning was also issued for Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Gandhinagar, Kheda, and parts of North Gujarat, urging residents to avoid non-essential travel.

Emergency control rooms across the state have been activated and NDRF and SDRF units are on high alert, particularly in regions marked orange and red by the IMD’s warning system. Authorities are preparing for potential flash floods, building collapses, and power outages in rural belts.

Local social media feeds were flooded with videos showing cars floating down narrow roads and families using buckets to bail water out of their homes. The mood on ground is tense but resilient, with many residents comparing today’s deluge to the flood crisis of nearly two decades ago.

With the monsoon season only in its early stages, authorities fear that worsening conditions over the next 48 hours could further test the limits of urban infrastructure and emergency response mechanisms.