MET warns of storm in UP today

LUCKNOW: Thunderstorm and dust storm accompanied with gusty winds are “very likely” at isolated places in 13 districts of Uttar Pradesh over the next two days, the MET department warned on Sunday.

According to the meteorological department, the districts that might be hit by thunderstorm or dust storm are Banda, Chitrakoot, Fatehpur, Hardoi, Shahjahanpur, Pilibhit, Bareilly, Rampur, Moradabad, Meerut, Bijnore, Muzaffarnagar and Saharanpur.

The weather office has also forecast “very likely” rain in certain parts of the state.

The latest bout of deadly dust storm over the weekend claimed 17 lives and left 11 persons injured. Most of the deaths were caused due to falling of trees and house collapse, a UP government spokesperson said.

Moradabad bore the maximum brunt of the storm, with as many as seven deaths reported from the district, followed by three deaths from Sambhal.

Two deaths each were reported from Badaun, Muzaffarnagar and Meerut, while one death was reported from Amroha. Five persons were injured in Amroha, three in Moradabad, two in Muzaffarnagar and one in Badaun.

The state government directed all district magistrates to distribute relief within 24 hours. Dust storms have become a regular phenomenon in the state that left over 130 people dead last month.

On May 13, around 39 people died in various districts, including Bareilly, Barabanki, Bulandshahr and Lakhimpur Khiri districts. On May 9, a severe storm left 18 dead and 27 others injured.

Thunderstorms and lightning on May 2-3 left 80 dead in the state, most of them in Agra district in the western part of the state.