The number of people killed in dust-storm, lightning in Rajasthan, UP and other states
new delhi — The death toll from freak storms that hit India climbed above 140 on Friday as people told how they had no time to escape the ferocious winds which tore down homes and toppled walls.
Meanwhile, a fresh warning about thunderstorm and squall hitting several states, including West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh has been issued, the home ministry said on Friday.
Thunderstorm accompanied by squall are very likely to hit isolated places over Assam and Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura.
Isolated places in Uttarakhand, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi, Punjab, Bihar, Jharkhand, Sikkim, Odisha, northwest Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Rayalaseema, north coastal Andhra Pradesh, interior Tamil Nadu and Kerala are very likely to experience thunderstorm along with gusty winds.
Heavy rains are expected at some places in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, while dust storm and thunderstorm are very likely to hit Rajasthan.
Thunderstorm accompanied by gusty winds may hit isolated places in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Gangetic West Bengal, while heavy rains are expected in Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura.
Amid warnings of further wild weather, thousands of families spent the night in the open air in the northern states of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
They told how 130 kilometre an hour winds carrying choking sand hit so quickly late Wednesday that they had no time to reach safety from falling walls and trees.
The dust storms claimed 121 lives in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and nearby Uttarakhand and Punjab states, according to latest official tolls.
Separately 21 people were killed by lightning in two southern states. Residents remain fearful. “We couldn’t sleep and were worried if the storm hits again. We took precautions and secured everything but nothing can stand up to nature’s fury,” 40-year-old Agra resident Munna Lal Jha said.
Agra district was one of the worst hit areas with at least 43 people killed, according to the state disaster management authority.
Twenty-four of them were killed in the small town of Kheragarh, near Agra. Many people in the region live in mud-wall homes that would have barely resisted the ferocious winds.
Four children from the same family were killed when a wall collapsed on them in Kheragarh.
Damaged houses lined town’s dusty roads.
Heaps of stones and bricks lay where dozens of homes were destroyed by the gale-force winds.
Villagers salvaged belongings from under the debris or fixed broken the
Relatives mourn Sunil Kumar in Kheragarh. Right, the collapsed high tension electricity poles near Agra on Friday. —
windows and doors blown away in the storm. Some were only left to mourn. Ram Bhorosi said how his son and a nephew died when their house caved in as they welcomed people who had attended his daughter’s wedding.
“We had guests at home and my son went inside the room to get a bed when the storm struck,” Bhorosi said.
“A big stone crushed his head after the roof collapsed.
“His cousin was also caught under the crumbling roof.
“Half a dozen men helped us to clear the rubble to take out bodies. They didn’t get time to raise the alarm, it was so sudden.”
In nearby Burera village, Anil Kumar told of his narrow escape when their house fell.
“We were sitting outside when the winds suddenly started raging. Four of us were crushed under the debris after the wall fell. My grandfather died but the others survived with injuries.”
At Bharatpur in Rajasthan, another of the worst-hit towns, a college gate pillar toppled killing three young men, all 18, who had just been accepted as police constables or soldiers, media reported.
The winds in Rajasthan raged at more than 100 kph, destroying houses, tearing up electricity pylons and uprooting trees.
The India Meteorological Department has warned there are likely to be more storms over a wider area until Tuesday.
The head of the Telangana state disaster management department, AFP, PTI
A big stone crushed his [son] head after the roof collapsed. His cousin was also caught under the crumbling roof. Half a dozen men helped us to clear the rubble to take out bodies.
Ram Bhorosi, a resident of Kheragarh near Agra
R V Chandravadan, said volatile weather would also continue in the southern region. — PTI, AFP