PARTS of India's western state of Gujarat have been hit by heavy rains this week, causing floods, disrupting utilities, and forcing thousands to evacuate. Authorities reported on Thursday that at least 28 people have died, with further heavy rainfall expected.
Army rescue teams have joined efforts to assist those affected, as people wade through waist-deep water, with vehicles and roads partially submerged, according to visuals from Reuters television.
"There has been no electricity for the last two days," said Prabhu Ram Soni, a resident of Jamnagar. "I have an eight-month-old daughter and my mother, who is an asthma patient on oxygen support."
Since Sunday, 28 people have died due to drowning and rain-related incidents, and more than 18,000 people have been evacuated from coastal cities, according to disaster management authorities.
Heavy rains continued in Jamnagar, where the world's largest oil refinery complex, owned by Reliance, is located. The district collector, BK Pandya, told Reuters that the refineries, including another run by Nayara Energy in nearby Vadinar, remain operational. Authorities are currently focused on rescue efforts in the district.
India's weather office has issued warnings for extremely heavy rainfall in Gujarat’s districts of Bharuch, Kutch, and Saurashtra on Thursday, with more heavy rain, thunderstorms, and lightning expected on Friday.
The rains have been caused by a deep atmospheric depression off the coast of Gujarat, which has also affected the southern coast of neighbouring Pakistan, with its largest city of Karachi lashed by heavy rain.
Officials in Pakistan’s southern province of Sindh warned against torrential rain, rough seas and flooding expected on Thursday, as the weather system moves westwards from India.
After recent heavy rains lashed the port city of Karachi, authorities have warned of flash floods in two districts of Sindh still recovering from 2022 floods that inundated large swathes of the country.
(With inputs from Reuters)
Piyush Goyal and Jonathan Reynolds tour the Royal Opera House in London
