At least 111 people have been killed after a freak summer storm swept through northern India's Uttar Pradesh state on Wednesday, bringing heavy rain, hail and lightning. Officials said the storm uprooted trees and billboards, which crashed into cars, and disrupted mobile networks, hampering rescue efforts.
State authorities initially reported 89 deaths before revising the toll to 111, with more than 50 injured. An official told Reuters that many deaths were caused by falling trees and collapsing walls. Emergency teams were deployed across the worst-hit areas, where homes, crops and power infrastructure suffered widespread damage, especially in rural districts.
In Bhadohi district, the hardest hit, at least 16 people died. In Fatehpur, nine were killed and 16 injured. In Budaun, five died, including two young girls, Mausami, 10, and Rajni, 9, after the mud wall of a hut collapsed on them. In Sonbhadra, a man died when a tree fell on him as he sheltered under it. In Chandauli, two people died in separate incidents of wall collapse and a falling tree.
Chief Minister Adityanath directed officials to complete relief work within 24 hours and ordered compensation for losses. He also instructed revenue and agriculture departments, along with insurance companies, to survey the damage. International leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and the UAE foreign ministry, expressed condolences. Singapore's High Commissioner Simon Wong said he was 'shocked and saddened' by the news.
Uttar Pradesh, home to 240 million people, is vulnerable to pre-monsoon storms, but hailstorms of this intensity are unusual in mid-May, when the state typically experiences peak summer heat exceeding 40°C. India has been enduring an intense heatwave this year, with one day in late April seeing the country account for all of the world's 50 hottest cities.
