New Delhi: As many as 71 people lost their lives in five states, including 42 in Uttar Pradesh, due to lightning and thunderstorms since yesterday, the home ministry said today. Among the dead, 42 were in Uttar Pradesh, 14 in West Bengal, 12 in Andhra Pradesh, two in Delhi and one in Uttarakhand, a ministry spokesperson said.
Altogether 83 people were injured in Uttar Pradesh, 11 in Delhi and two in Uttarakhand. A total of 24 districts in Uttar Pradesh, six in West Bengal, three in Andhra Pradesh, two in Delhi and one in Uttarakhand were hit by the lightning and thunderstorms, the spokesperson said.
Dust storms and thunderstorms wreaked havoc since yesterday in Delhi and parts of Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, leaving behind a trail of destruction.
Five people each were killed in Bareilly and Barabanki districts. Officials said 117 houses were damaged and 13 animals died in the storms. Riyasat Ali (52) was killed and his son seriously injured after a tree fell on them near Pawti village, Muzaffarnagar district administration officials said today.
In Shamli district’s Jalalabad area, 50-year-old Anwari Begum died after a portion of her house’s wall collapsed during the dust storm, officials said. Over 12 people were injured in both districts and electricity supply was disrupted because of the storm, according to Muzaffarnagar and Shamli district administration officials.
On May 3, a storm had whipped through large parts of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, killing over a 100 people and destroying mud homes and crops. The Met department had predicted another dust storm in the following 48 hours.
Yesterday, high-speed winds uprooted trees and disrupted air, rail and road services, an Economic Times report said. According to the Meteorological Department, thunderstorms also occurred at isolated places in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Assam, Meghalaya, Maharashtara, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu today.
In West Bengal, at least 12 people, including four children, were killed and over 15 injured in lightning strike amid heavy rain, an official of the state disaster management department said. Five deaths were reported from Howrah district, while two deaths each from West Midnapore, North 24-Parganas and Nadia districts and one from Murshidabad district.
There was dust storm along with a drizzle in parts of national capital in the evening. Over 180 flights were affected at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport. As many as 62 flights, including at least four international ones were diverted to nearby airports. Nearly 114 domestic and nine international flights were also delayed. A total of four flights were cancelled, a report in the Hindu said.
Strong winds in Delhi reportedly knocked down nearly 200 trees. Incidents of wall collapse were reported from Najafgarh, Transit Camp, Nehru Place, Mohan Garden in Uttam Nagar and Raj Nagar in Palam, a senior officer from the Delhi Fire Service said. Traffic in many areas moved at a snail’s pace due to the reduced visibility.
In Andhra Pradesh, at least 12 people were killed by lightning, said M.V. Sheshagiri Babu, the state’s relief commissioner. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on a Twitter he had asked authorities to provide “all possible assistance” to the needy.
According to the Meteorological department, the rain accompanied by strong winds will continue for the next 72 hours across the country, though the intensity might not be as strong.
(With agency inputs)