At least 89 people have died after a freak summer hailstorm accompanied by heavy rain and lightning struck northern India's Uttar Pradesh state on Wednesday, officials said. The storm, which hit five districts, uprooted trees and billboards, causing them to crash into cars and homes. Mobile networks were disrupted in many areas, hampering rescue and relief efforts.
Casualties and Damage
An unnamed state official told Reuters that about 89 people were killed due to the storm, lightning, and rain-related incidents, with many deaths caused by falling trees and collapsing walls. Bhadohi district was the hardest hit, with at least 16 dead and six injured, two seriously. In Fatehpur, nine people died and 16 were injured. Additional District Magistrate Avinash Tripathi reported that eight people, including five women, died in Khaga tehsil, and a ninth victim, a woman, was killed when a house wall collapsed in Sadar tehsil.
Specific Incidents
In Budaun, five people were killed, including two young girls, Mausami (10) and Rajni (9), who died after the mud wall of a hut they were sheltering in collapsed. Two women with them were seriously injured. In Tark Paroli village, a 40-year-old woman named Laxmi died after a tree fell on a tubewell room where several people had taken shelter, bringing down the roof. Three people were injured, one critically. A truck driver died when a eucalyptus tree fell on his vehicle near Bisoli, and a 22-year-old man died while delivering food to his father. In Sonbhadra, a man died after a tree fell on him as he sheltered under it. In Chandauli, two people died in separate wall collapse and tree fall incidents.
Government Response
Chief Minister Adityanath directed district officials to reach affected areas and complete relief work within 24 hours, warning that negligence would not be tolerated. He ordered compensation for losses and directed revenue and agriculture departments, alongside insurance companies, to survey damage and report to the government.
Unseasonal Weather
Uttar Pradesh, home to 240 million people, is vulnerable to violent pre-monsoon storms, but hailstorms of this intensity are unusual in mid-May, when the state typically experiences peak summer heat with temperatures often exceeding 40°C, and the monsoon still weeks away. India has been enduring an intense heatwave this summer, with one day in late April seeing all of the world's 50 hottest cities in the South Asian nation.
