Lucknow: A powerful storm accompanied by torrential rains and hail battered several parts of Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday night, leaving 23 people dead and dozens injured across 20 districts. The devastation, which included wind speeds up to 80 kmph, uprooted trees and power poles, flooded roads and hospitals, and left vast areas without electricity.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the loss of lives and directed district magistrates to provide immediate relief and compensation to the affected families. “Every life lost is a tragedy. Instructions have been issued to expedite rescue operations and ensure timely treatment of the injured,” said a government spokesperson from the Chief Minister’s Office.
Officials confirm death of 23 people in rain related incidents in last 24 hours.
Gorakhpur division witnessed three deaths. In the AIIMS police station area, 19-year-old Dheeraj died after being struck by lightning while picking vegetables with his mother, who sustained serious burns. In Kushinagar’s Kasya area, 14-year-old Krishna died and her sister Mamta was injured after a mango tree fell on them during heavy rain.
Meanwhile, in Ramkola, 46-year-old Manati Devi was killed when a strong gust of wind lifted a hut she had taken shelter in, throwing her into debris. In Lakhimpur Kheri’s Nighasan area, three people—including a father and daughter—were crushed under the debris of a collapsed wall and tin shed. Rakhshpal Singh, his 10-year-old daughter Ramandeep, and an 80-year-old woman named Phulvasa died in separate incidents related to the storm’s impact.
CHC Superintendent Dr. Kamlesh Narayan confirmed Phulvasa succumbed to a severe head injury caused by falling debris.
The National Capital Region was also severely impacted. In Noida and Ghaziabad, more than 50 trees were uprooted, blocking roads and damaging parked vehicles. A 46-foot banyan tree crashed onto several cars in Sector 23, while a biker died in Madhuban Bapudham after being hit by a falling tree. In Khoda, a woman was crushed under a collapsed school wall, and in Nidori, another woman died after falling into a drain in panic during a lightning strike.
Western Uttar Pradesh districts like Meerut, Baghpat, Aligarh, and Bijnor also faced severe consequences. Two people died in Meerut, and a soldier was killed in Bijnor when a tree fell on him. Lightning strikes claimed two more lives in Sonbhadra, and in Jhansi’s Rajapur, one man died of heatstroke following the sudden weather shift.