Coastal towns and cities in India and Pakistan are bracing for a rare August cyclone, with heavy rain and winds forcing authorities to close schools and evacuate thousands.
India's weather office said a deep depression had formed over land and was likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm by Friday evening local time, moving north-west over the Arabian Sea over the following two days.
Schools in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, and parts of the Kutch district in India's Gujarat state were also shut, officials said, as heavy rain lashed both places.
A further three people died in Gujarat overnight in rain-related incidents, taking the death toll to 31 this week.
Later on Friday, a mudslide triggered by heavy monsoon rain hit a house in a remote part of north-western Pakistan, killing 12 people, mostly children.
Since July 1, more than 275 people have died in rain-related incidents in various parts of the country.
People cross a flooded street after heavy rains in Ahmedabad, India. (Reuters: Amit Dave)
A cyclonic storm during August is a rare occurrence — and this the first in decades, data from India's weather office showed.
"Cyclone formation generally takes place over sea and then it moves over to land," said Ashok Kumar Das, head of the Indian Meteorological Department in Ahmedabad.
"This type of system is unusual because it formed over land and is now moving towards the sea."
Authorities have evacuated more than 8,700 people from 10 districts in the state over the past 24 hours, officials said.
In neighbouring Pakistan, authorities warned of urban flooding as well as flash floods in rural areas due to the heavy rain, and urged citizens to stay indoors.
Authorities in both countries warned fishermen against venturing out into the sea.
Parts of Karachi received 147 mm of rain overnight, the local weather office said.
The city's mayor, Murtaza Wahab, urged residents to avoid "unnecessary movement".
Reuters/AP