Gujarat: 3 killed in wall collapse, 1 dead in lightning strike as heavy rains wreak havoc

In a tragic development from Gujarat's Morbi district, three members of a family were killed after a wall of their house collapsed following incessant rains in the region. The incident took place late Sunday night when the victims were sleeping in their house in Sundaribhavani village under Halvad taluka of the district. It is pertinent to mention here that Southwest Monsoon has further advanced into some parts of Gujarat as heavy rains and thunderstorms were reported in several districts on Sunday. 

The victims - a woman, her husband and the latter’s brother suffered serious injuries when their house wall collapsed and all three of them died on the spot. The victims were in the age group of 25 to 30 years, an official from Halvad police station said. 

After being alerted by some villagers, police rushed to the spot and sent the bodies to a hospital in Morbi for autopsy, the official said. In a similar incident, a woman was killed after being struck by lightning in Jhikiyari village of the district on Sunday evening, another official said.

Intense rainfall along the west peninsular coast is likely to continue till June 14: IMD

According to the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC), heavy thundershowers were reported in 91 talukas of Gujarat in the 24-hour period ending at 6 am on Monday. Eleven talukas in districts like Mahisagar, Junagadh, Amreli and Dahod recorded 25 mm to 75 mm rainfall, it said. In Morbi district, Halvad, Vankaner and Tankara talukas received heavy showers, as per the SEOC data.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday said,  “Southwest Monsoon has further advanced into some more parts of Arabian Sea, some parts of Gujarat, entire Konkan, most parts of Madhya Maharashtra & Marathwada, Karnataka, Some parts of Telangana & Rayalaseema, some more parts of TN,  most parts of SHWB, some parts of Bihar today.”

It said that the heatwave conditions have abated in most places in central and the adjoining parts of the country. Intense rainfall along the west peninsular coast is likely to continue till Tuesday, June 14. While the ongoing spell of heavy rainfall in the northeast and sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim is predicted to continue for five more days. The arrival of the monsoon is expected to provide relief from heat waves that have been sweltering parts of the country for the past two months.