Heavy rains batter Western India, 28 dead

Ahmedabad (Reuters): Heavy rains battered parts of India's western state of Gujarat this week, flooding cities, snapping utility links and forcing thousands to leave their homes, with at least 28 dead, authorities said on Thursday, warning of more heavy downpours.

Army rescue teams have joined the relief effort, as people waded through waist-high waters that have partly submerged vehicles and roads, visuals from Reuters television showed.

"There is no electricity for the last two days," said Prabhu Ram Soni, who lives in the coastal city of Jamnagar. "I have an eight-month-old daughter and an asthma patient, my mother, who is on oxygen support."

Since Sunday, 28 people have died from drowning and rain-related causes, while more than 18,000 have been evacuated from cities near the coasts, disaster management authorities said.

Heavy rains continued in Jamnagar, home to the world's largest oil refinery complex, owned by Reliance, the district collector, B K Pandya, told Reuters.

At nearby Vadinar, Nayara Energy, backed by Russian groups including its largest oil producer, Rosneft, runs another refinery.

"They are operational," Pandya said, when asked if rain had affected work in the refineries, adding that authorities were focusing on rescue efforts in the district.

India's weather office has warned of extremely heavy rainfall forecast on Thursday in Gujarat's districts of Bharuch, Kutch and Saurashtra, with Friday expected to bring heavy rain, thunderstorms and lightning.