PATNA/LUCKNOW: At least 50 people lost their lives in UP, Bihar and Uttarakhand on Thursday following a deadly spell of severe weather marked by intense thunderstorm, lightning and heavy rains.
While 27 people died in Bihar, UP saw 22 fatalities across 11 districts, including 13 resulting from lightning strikes. In Uttarakhand, a 40-year-old man farmer died after being struck by lightning in Sunkhari Kalan village of Udham Singh Nagar district.
In Bihar, Nalanda district alone accounted for 20 deaths, while two persons died in Siwan and one each in Katihar, Darbhanga, Begusarai, Bhagalpur and Jehanabad districts. The state has reported at least 40 deaths due to inclement weather over the past two days, with lightning strike claiming 13 lives across four districts on Wednesday.
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The deaths on Thursday were reported even after the disaster management department issued an alert during the day, warning that “a very severe convective system (like thunderstorms) is moving very fast from west Bihar to east Bihar”, and advising people to remain indoors until 6.13 pm as a precautionary measure.
The severe weather also caused widespread damage to power infrastructure in the state, toppling 320 electricity poles.
Both CM Nitish Kumar condoled the deaths and announced ex gratia payment of Rs 4 lakh to the next of kin of each victim.
In UP, too, where rain was recorded in 36 districts, CM Yogi Adityanath announced an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh each to the families. He asked officials to take up rescue work promptly, assess damage to crops and livestock, and disburse compensation to affected farmers.