31 people killed as intense storm slams northern India
Pastor Dale Morgan
Saturday May 12, 11:39 PM
*31 people killed as intense storm slams northern India*
At least 31 people died as a severe storm hammered northern India,
officials said on Saturday.
All the deaths were reported from the worst-hit state of Uttar Pradesh,
they added.
Scores of others were injured in the storm, late Friday, which was
accompanied by baseball sized hail and driving rain, officials said in
the state capital of Lucknow.
Fifteen people died in storm-related incidents in the district of
Sultanpur, a state government spokesman said.
Nine others were killed when trees came down on their homes in the
district, he added.
District administrator Sanjay Kumar said the storm also sparked fires
and added some 100 houses were burnt during the bad weather in the district.
Lightning strikes killed three in the hilly Pratapgarh district while
four people were buried alive when their homes collapsed in the district
of Barabanki, the official in Lucknow said.
The state administration reported widespread damage from the storm,
which lashed several northern Indian states including national capital
Delhi, where rains flooded parts of the city and disrupted rush-hour
traffic.