At least 27 people have lost their lives following three days of relentless rainfall that has battered parts of Gujarat in western India, state officials confirmed on Wednesday. The torrential downpours have prompted large-scale rescue operations, with disaster response teams deployed across the state as more heavy monsoon rains are forecast.
The state government announced that the death toll climbed to 27 after nine additional fatalities were reported on Wednesday. Most of the latest victims drowned, raising the toll from an earlier count of 18. The hardest-hit areas include the towns of Palitana and Jesar, where an extraordinary 867 millimetres of rain fell within just 24 hours on Tuesday, equivalent to 34 inches.
Gujarat’s state relief commissioner Alok Kumar Pandey said that the initial fatalities were caused by a combination of storms, lightning strikes, and building collapses triggered by the severe weather. He assured that the state authorities are fully mobilised to address the crisis, with various government departments coordinating closely to carry out swift rescue and relief operations.
Among those rescued were 18 agricultural workers trapped in mango orchards in the Gadhada area, as well as 22 residents of Surendranagar district whose homes were inundated after a river burst its banks and flooded the area.
India’s monsoon season, which typically spans from June to September, is vital for replenishing the country’s water supplies and offers relief from the intense heat of summer. However, the heavy rains often bring devastation, with flash floods and landslides causing scores of deaths annually across the nation, home to a population of 1.4 billion.
