More than 45 people were killed, 36 in Agra Zone alone, and dozens injured in a massive thunder and hailstorm that hit Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday-Thursday night.
The toll may cross over to 50.
Nature's fury took maximum lives in the Agra zone when winds at the speed of 132 km/hour lashed the entire region leaving 36 dead and many injured.
About 18 people were killed in Khairabad, 9 in Fatehabad, 4 in Bah, 2 each in Etmadpur and Kirwali area in Agra.
Storm-related deaths were reported from Saharanpur, Moradabad, Sambhal, Muzaffarnagar etc where people died in House/tree collapse.
The weather suddenly took a devastating turn at 2.30 am on Thursday morning when people were fast asleep.
Majority of the people died in house/wall/tree collapse.
At many places, the thunderstorm was followed by hailstorm severely damaging standing wheat crop and killing cattle.
The massive storm lasted only for 15 minutes.
The devastation in terms of loss of human life, damage to crop and livestock would have been much higher had the storm lasted for more time.
"The rescue and relief operations are in full swing.
We are assessing losses.
The toll may cross over 50 as teams are yet to reach interior areas," Sanjay Kumar, Relief Commissioner, told the media.
The local police have also been involved in the relief and rescue operations.
Before leaving for Karnataka, the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath condoled those died in the thunderstorm and directed the disaster management officials to provide immediate relief and compensation to the families in the affected areas.
"The government will not tolerate any laxity in relief and rescue work," warned the CM.
The high-velocity winds affected the rail and road traffic.
The power supply in many of the areas remained disrupted affecting mobile and net services.
Dozens of trains across the state came to a sudden halt when the power line went off and many trees fell on the track.
In Chitrakoot, a tree fell on the running train damaging engine.
However, no casualty was reported.
At least 27 people were killed and nearly 100 injured as a high-intensity squall
At least 27 people were killed and nearly 100 injured as a high-intensity squall followed by thundershowers hit parts of Rajasthan overnight, leaving a trail of destruction.
Houses collapsed and electricity poles and trees were uprooted as the severe dust storm swept the Matsya region.
"So far, 27 people have died due to the disaster, including 12 in Bharatpur, 10 in Dholpur and 5 in Alwar.
The squall was reported mainly in three districts," Secretary, Disaster Management and Relief, Hemant Kumar Gera told PTI. Two of those killed in Dholpur were from Agra in Uttar Pradesh.
He said nearly 100 were injured in the disaster.
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