Thousands evacuated as cyclone builds off India and Pakistan’s coast

ISLAMABAD, Aug 29 :  Heavy rains battered India and Pakistan's coastal areas along the Arabian Sea, flooding cities in western India's Gujarat state and forcing thousands of people from their homes, with authorities predicting a cyclonic storm to develop by Friday.

People waded through waist-high waters that partly submerged vehicles and roads in parts of the state, visuals from Reuters television showed. At least 28 people have died this week from rain-related incidents in the state, officials said, as meteorologists in India and neighbouring Pakistan warned that more heavy downpours and strong winds were expected to lash the coast.

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