Twenty people have been killed in lightning strikes in different parts of Gujarat due to unseasonal rainfall, PTI news agency said.
Four persons died in Dahod district, three in Bharuch, two in Tapi, and one each in Ahmedabad, Amreli, Banaskantha, Botad, Kheda, Mehsana, Panchmahal, Sabarkantha, Surat, Surendranagar, and Devbhumi Dwarka, according to State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC).
Yesterday, eight people were killed in lightning strikes as the state received widespread unseasonal rains accompanied by thunderstorms.
A 22-year-old biker died in Botad taluka after being struck by lightning, while a 29-year-old man died after a tree fell on an autorickshaw in Mehsana district. Besides, two farmers died in the Tapi district, and one each in Sabarkantha, Ahmedabad, Mehsana, and Dahod districts in lightning strikes that accompanied the rains.
Lightning strikes killed cattle and sheep in some places as well.
According to the PTI news agency, 220 of 251 talukas of Gujarat received up to 50 mm of rainfall in 10 hours since 6 am on Sunday. Whereas Ahmedabad city received 15 mm of rainfall yesterday.
The unseasonal rainfall has been caused due to a cyclonic circulation lying over the northeast Arabian Sea and adjoining Saurashtra and Kutch regions, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said the rain activity is expected to abate on Monday. IMD's Ahmedabad centre director Manorama Mohanty said rains will abate on Monday and remain concentrated in some parts of south Gujarat and Saurashtra districts.
Meanwhile, IMD has issued a rainfall alert for various regions in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and southwest Madhya Pradesh for the early hours of Monday.
The Met Department also anticipated light to moderate rainfall in isolated areas of Punjab, Haryana, West Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Himachal Pradesh.
"Orange and red colour regions (south Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and southwest Madhya Pradesh) are likely to experience light to moderate rainfall accompanied with thunderstorms, gusty winds and hailstorms during next 2-3 hours. Nowcasts are regularly being updated," IMD said in a post on 'X' late on Sunday night.
"Light to moderate rainfall also likely over adjoining areas of Punjab, Haryana, West Uttar Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh during night time," it said.
