Thunderstorm Alert! At least 40 dead and several injured due to thunderstorm and lightning in UP, Bihar and Jharkhand; rescue work underway

A thunderstorm hit North Indian states, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Uttarakhand, in which at least 40 people were killed due to thunderstorm and lightning on Monday. As per reports, nearby sixteen people died after lightening and thunderstorm hit different parts of the Bihar. Eight people died due to a thunderstorm, while other eight were killed due to incidents of lightning.

Nine persons were killed and six others injured in the incidents of thunderstorm and lightning in some parts of Uttar Pradesh, a senior government official said on Tuesday. As many as five persons were killed and four others injured as lightning struck some parts of Unnao district last night, Principal Secretary, Information, Avinash Awasthi said. There are also reports of two persons each being killed in a thunderstorm in Kanpur and Rae Bareli, he added.

Rescue work is being undertaken in Uttar Pradesh and district magistrates have been asked to provide relief work to people in next 24 hours, Mr Awasthi said.

According to a report in Hindustan Times, lightning killed at least 11 people while thunderstorms left over a dozen others injured in the past 24 hours in Jharkhand, taking the weather-related toll to 18 this month in the state.
The Indian Meteorological Department on Tuesday issued a Thunderstorm alert accompanied with rain, squall and hailstones that is likely to occur for three hours on Tuesday over some areas in Lucknow's Hardoi, Sitapur, Farrukhabad districts and adjoining areas.

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