69 killed in rain-related incidents in India's Gujarat since June 1

NEW DELHI, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Rain-related incidents in the western Indian state of Gujarat have killed 69 people since June 1, officials said Wednesday.

Local government officials said six people died in rain-related incidents during the past 24 hours as rains continued to batter several districts in the state.

"In rain-related incidents, six more people lost their lives in the last 24 hours, raising the death toll to 69 since June 1 this year in Gujarat," local disaster management minister Rajendra Trivedi told media.

According to Trivedi, deaths were caused due to lightning, drowning, wall collapse, uprooting of trees and electricity poles, etc.

Television visuals showed rivers in spate, overflowing dams and flooded streets due to torrential rains.

The weather department has issued a warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall with extremely heavy rain in several districts during the next five days.

Many parts of south Gujarat are already facing a flood-like situation for the last two days following incessant rains and authorities have launched rescue efforts to evacuate people from the low-lying and inundated areas.

A local government press release for the media said a total of 27,896 people were evacuated from flood-affected areas.

Police officials told the media that 20 teams of the National Disaster Response Force and 11 teams of the State Disaster Response Force have been deployed in various parts of the state.

Due to the widespread rains, 388 roads, including state highways and village roads, were closed.

On Tuesday, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel conducted an aerial survey of the flood-affected Navsari district and instructed the district authorities to speed up the relief and rescue works in affected areas.