He said that about 30 families were shifted on Wednesday from low-lying areas of Limbayat locality in Surat which has already been flooded with knee-deep water.

The alert for a possible flood situation in the localities of Udhna, Varachhha, Pandesara and Puna Gam, which were worst affected during the 2006 floods, has caused the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) and the district administration officials to start evacuating residents of the vulnerable areas immediately.

The high tides have unpredictable ways of causing floods during the monsoon, particularly in the low-lying areas of Surat city, an official stated.

The fire brigade personnel of the SMC have been put on high alert to deal with any eventuality as more families are expected to be evacuated Thursday from the city's low-lying areas.