At least 27 people have been killed in multiple lightning strikes in Gujarat as widespread unseasonal rainfall battered the state, damaging homes and standing crops, officials said on Monday.
The lightning-related deaths occurred in a span of 24 hours beginning on early Sunday morning, they said.
The rainfall subsided on Monday which saw only intermittent showers at some places in the state.
As per the State Emergency Operation Centre, so far 27 people have lost their lives after being struck by lightning in different parts of Gujarat.
Most of the deaths were reported in the districts of Dahod, Tapi, Dangs, Amreli, Surendranagar, Botad, Mehsana, Kheda, Panchmahal, Sabarkantha, Ahmedabad, Bharuch and Devbhumi Dwarka, it said.
Lightning strikes also killed animals, while untimely rains accompanied by thunderstorms and hailstorms damaged houses and standing crops, the officials said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah paid condolences to the families of the victims and said the state administration was engaged in relief work.
Shah, in a post on X on Sunday night, said, "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."
Gujarat Cabinet Minister Rushikesh Patel on Monday said Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, who is currently on a trip to Japan to promote the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2024, has expressed concern over the untimely rainfall and loss of lives and damage caused by it.
Rushikesh Patel, who is also the state government's spokesperson, said nearly 60 per cent of the state has received showers ranging from 1 mm to 144 mm in the last two days, causing loss to kharif crops.
The government will carry out a survey to assess damage caused by unseasonal downpour, hail and lightning in parts of the state so that adequate compensation is given to affected farmers, he said.
The India meteorological department, in its latest bulletin, said the state was likely to experience dry weather from Tuesday onwards, with minimum temperatures expected to fall by 4 to 5 degrees Celsius before rising during the next 4 to 5 days.
In 12 hours till 6 pm on Monday, a total 27 talukas of Gujarat received 1 to 45 mm rainfall, mainly in south Gujarat districts of Tapi, Valsad, Navsari, Dangs and Surat.
It was a drastic reduction from 236 talukas receiving precipitation up to 144 mm in 24 hours till Sunday morning, the SEOC data showed.
Apart from causing damage to standing crops, the sudden showers also affected the ceramic industry in Morbi district in the Saurashtra region as factories were forced to remain shut, officials said.
The untimely rains were caused due to a cyclonic circulation lying over the north-east Arabian sea and adjoining Saurashtra and Kutch regions, the IMD said in a bulletin earlier.
