Like the behavior of the people of Pharaoh and those before them. They rejected Our signs, so God took them for their sins. God is severe in retribution.
Translation endnotes
[3:11] The word aya in its singular form occurs 84 times in the Quran and, in all of the occurrences, means miracle, evidence, or lesson. However, its plural form ayat is used both for miracle/evidence/lesson AND for the language of revelation that entails or leads to those miracles/evidences/lessons. See 2:106.