Heavy rains in most parts of Gujarat claimed 20 lives on Sunday.

Five deaths occurred in Ahmedabad, three each in Kalol, Khambhat, Dahod and Valsad, two in Kheda and one in Surat, official sources said.

The fatalities were due to house collapses, electrocution, lightning and drowning, they said.

The downpour crippled normal life and affected vehicular and rail traffic. The rains caused water-logging in Ahmedabad and other parts of the state.

The government sounded high alert in all the 70 dams and instructed concerned authorities to take precautionary measures.

Chief Minister Narendra Modi, soon after his arrival in Ahmedabad from Mumbai, held a meeting with his ministers and senior bureaucrats to assess the situation.

He directed all district collectors to put the government machinery in full gear for rescue and relief operations.

More than 100mm rain was reported from several places including Vadodara, Panchmahals, Kheda, Ahmedabad, Sabarkantha and Mehsana.

Rescue teams evacuated nearly 1,700 people from several villages in Kheda and Mehsana districts and provided food packets to people stranded for hours in knee-deep water.