Almost 90 people were killed in a violent storm that battered India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, with rain and hail, the state disaster management and relief office said on Thursday.
Storms are common in the northern states during the hot season from March to June, before the monsoon rains bring respite.
“Adverse weather conditions” on Wednesday led to the deaths of 89 people, Uttar Pradesh’s relief commissioner said in a post on X.
There were also reports of 53 people injured, 87 houses damaged, and 114 livestock killed in the state due to the storms, rain, hail, and lightning, the post added.
Television images showed trees and billboards uprooted by gusts of wind, with some crashing into cars amid clouds of dust and debris that knocked down wooden furniture at roadside stalls.
Some of the fatalities were attributed to falling trees and collapsing walls of homes, a state relief official told Reuters.
The chief minister of the state, governed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, had directed officials to assist survivors and distribute financial aid within 24 hours, authorities said.
