21 people have reportedly been struck dead by lightning in eastern India.
The lightning struck several part of the country killing 18 in Odisha state, and another three died in Jharkhand state.
10 people were also injured by the widespread bolts as storms erupted over rice paddies, as it is reported that most victims of the lightning were farmers working on their farms.
But in Jharkhand, two brothers in Kharswan district were killed when the lightning penetrated the thatched roof of their house.
In the western state of Gujarat, 213 people have been killed in weeks of flooding, state disaster management officials said, almost doubling the death toll after about 100 bodies were found when water started receding.
Suresh Kumar, West Bengal’s top disaster management official, said 31 deaths were reported in a week of flooding in the state.
“Heavy rains have caused massive damage in several districts,” Kumar told AFP.
Landslides and flash floods in the northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam since April have left dozens dead, while Jharkhand and Bihar have also been badly hit. Nearly 140 lightning deaths have been reported in Bihar since May.
Lightning kills thousands of Indians every year, especially during the June-October monsoon — most of them farmers working the fields.
AFP
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