45 killed in rain-related incidents in UP; more thunderstorms in store till Monday | Lucknow News
LUCKNOW: At least 45 people died in Uttar Pradesh due to heavy winds and thundershowers that lashed several districts in the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday. Out of these, two persons died after they were struck by lightning.Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath carried out continuous monitoring of the situation, directing officials to implement relief and rescue operations at the earliest in the affected districts. Relief commissioner Bhanu Chandra Goswami issued directions to all divisional commissioners to release compensation to the families of the deceased within 24 hours, preferably on May 22 itself. He further said that districts which do not have funds under the necessary heads, should immediately inform the headquarters and have funds released.18 UP districts hit by hail & thundershowers, says govtAll local administrations were asked to carry out survey of agricultural fields to assess damage to crops and submit a report to the headquarters at the earliest, so that compensation could be issued.A govt spokesperson said that 18 districts were impacted by hail, squally winds and thundershowers. Out of the 45 deaths reported, five each were from Kasganj and Fatehpur, four each from Meerut and Auraiya, three each from Bulandshahr, Gautam Budh Nagar, Kanpur Nagar, Kannauj and Etah, two each from Ghaziabad, Etawah and Kanpur Dehat and one each in Firozabad, Aligarh, Hathras and Amethi.In addition to this, one person each in Chitrakoot and Ambedkarnagar died after they were hit by lightning.The India Meteorological Department reported that due to cyclonic circulations originating over Punjab, squally winds of 60-100 kmph lashed parts of the state, while heavy rainfall was reported from pockets of eastern UP. More thunderstorm activity is expected till Monday with possibility of light to moderate rain and gusty winds, especially over central UP and Terai regions.The govt spokesperson said the Met department had warned of a fall of 2-4 degrees Celsius in the maximum temperature till Saturday, and thereafter, there can be a rise of 2-3 degrees Celsius over the next few days. He said that warnings have been issued to districts where necessary, so that residents could be informed in advance in case the weather situation deteriorated.
