24 killed in two days as thunderstorm, rain batter India’s Gujarat
Gujarat rains
As many as 24 people have been killed in lightning strikes since Sunday (Nov 26) in India’s western Gujarat state.
Gujarat has been witnessing intense thunderstorms and hailstorms, apart from heavy rain, with some regions receiving up to 144mm (5.7 inches) of rain in the 24 hours ending Monday morning, Reuters news agency reported quoting state government data.
The heavy rain has destroyed crops in at least 200 places, left more than 25 injured, and at least 70 animals dead.
The state officials have attributed at least 18 of the 24 deaths to lightning strikes.
Amit Shah condoles deaths
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, whose home state is Gujarat, condoled the deathsin a post on X and said the local administration was engaged in relief work.
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“I am deeply saddened by the news of the death of many people due to bad weather and lightning in various cities of Gujarat. I express my deepest condolences for the irreparable loss to those who lost their loved ones in this tragedy. The local administration is engaged in relief work, praying for the speedy recovery of the injured.”
Gujarat’s agricultural minister Raghavji Patel on Monday (Nov 27) said that they are assessing the damage caused by unseasonal rains and added thatcompensation would be provided once the survey to assess the damage to crops is out.
More rainfall expected
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel is currently on an official visit to Japan with a high-level delegation to attract foreign investment in the state.
Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast rainfall to continue in parts of the state on Monday.
IMD’s Ahmedabad unit chief Manorama Mohanty told BBC that the collision of three weather systems over Gujarat caused the lightning strikes.
"These are the easterly winds flowing from the Arabian Sea, the Western Disturbance over the Western Himalayas and the Cyclonic Circulation over South Gujarat," Mohanty told BBC Gujarati.
Gujarat is not unfamiliar with rain-related calamities. In August 2020, 14 people died in the state over just two days in various incidents related to heavy rains and flooding.
A year before, in August 2019, 31 people died in the state in rain-related incidents.
(With inputs from agencies)