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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Violent storms leave at least 86 people dead, over 100 injured

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NEW DELHI: Authorities said on Monday that at least 86 people have been killed and over 100 injured in a fresh wave of violent sandstorms and thunderstorms that battered vast swathes of the country.


Winds of over 100 kilometres per hour struck parts of north, east and southern parts of the country late on Sunday, uprooting trees, electricity pylons and damaging houses, officials from federal and state disaster management agencies said.


The fatalities came just 10 days after a sandstorm left more than 134 dead — most of them in Agra, the city of the Taj Mahal.


Hail, wind and thunderstorms brought down walls, trees and power pylons in Uttar Pradesh state, killing 48 people, T P Gupta of the state disaster management department said.


Eight people also drowned in the state’s Barabanki district after their boat capsized in a river due to strong winds.


Gupta said 80 people were injured by the gusts that flattened nearly 40 houses across the country’s most populous state.


The country has been gripped by a freak weather system since the beginning of May, with many parts of the country experiencing extreme conditions.


Similar storms hit the region every year but this year has been the deadliest in decades.


In the eastern state of West Bengal 14 people were killed on Sunday after lightning struck a house in the state capital Kolkata, including four children as thunderstorms separately ravaged several localities. Lightning bolts killed twelve people in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, while two people died in both Bihar state and the Indian capital New Delhi.


Indira Gandhi International Airport was closed for more than two hours because of the winds, with 70 flights diverted. Andhra Pradesh had also been hit by more than 40,000 lightning bolts on May 1, killing 14 people in a matter of hours.


Over 450 PCR calls: More than 450 emergency calls were made to the Police Control Room (PCR) owing to the sudden thunderstorm and dust storm that hit the national capital, the Delhi Police said on Monday.


According to the police, the total number of calls up to 8 am on Monday related to Sunday’s dust storm was 467, of which 301 were related to trees falling in various parts of the city.


“There were 87 calls related to poles falling and 79 calls of roof collapse. We also received 304 calls related to traffic jams,” an official added.


Sunday’s lightning and dust storm left two people dead and 31 injured.


In Sarita Vihar area in southeast Delhi, a tin sheet blown off a rooftop by strong winds hit a 22-year-old pedestrian Rohit, injuring him seriously. He was rushed to the Apollo hospital where he was declared brought dead.


In Pandav Nagar area in east Delhi, Sonwati, 56, died after a tree fell on her, police added. Condoling the deaths, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday urged the party workers to provide all possible assistance to the bereaved families.


“My condolences to the families of those killed in the severe storms and lightning strikes across India, yesterday (Sunday). Many have also been injured.


“I urge Congress Party workers to provide all possible assistance to the families of those killed and injured,” he said in a tweet. — AFP/IANS


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