Tragic storms in Uttar Pradesh's Bhadohi and Budaun districts have claimed 11 lives, causing widespread destruction and hampering rescue efforts amid disrupted communications.
At least 31 people were killed on Wednesday after a powerful storm accompanied by heavy rains caused widespread damage in Bhadohi, Budaun, Fatehpur and Sonbhadra districts of Uttar Pradesh, officials said.
The officials said at least 16 people have lost their lives in Bhadohi, nine in Fatehpur, five in Budaun and one in Sonbhadra district.
In Bhadohi, Additional District Magistrate Kunwar Virendra Kumar Maurya said reports were coming from several areas about uprooted trees, electricity poles and damaged houses.
He said restoration and rescue operations faced difficulties because mobile networks were disrupted due to the storm.
Maurya said sub-divisional magistrates, tehsildars, other district officials and police were inspecting and carrying out relief work across all three tehsils of the district.
In a post on X, Bhadohi Police said that 16 people died in separate incidents in the district due to a dust storm, while six were injured, of whom two are serious.
In Fatehpur, nine persons were killed, and 16 were injured in storm-related incidents.
Additional district magistrate Avinash Tripathi said, "Eight persons, including five women, were killed in Khaga tehsil, in Sadar tehsil, one woman was killed due to a house wall collapse. A total of nine deaths have been reported in storm-related incidents, while 16 people were injured."
In Budaun, five persons, including two minor girls, were killed and as many were injured in separate incidents caused by a severe dust storm and rain.
In Siddhpur Kaitholi village under Bisoli police station limits, two girls -- Mausami (10) and Rajni (9) -- died after a mud wall of a hut collapsed on them during the storm, police sources said.
The girls, along with two women identified as Kallo and Neha, had taken shelter in the hut after strong winds began.
The wall collapsed in the storm, leaving all four trapped under the debris.
While the two girls died on the spot, the women sustained serious injuries, officials said.
In another incident in Tark Paroli village under Faizganj Behta police station area, a woman identified as Laxmi (40) died after a tree fell on a tubewell room where several people had taken shelter from the storm.
The roof of the structure collapsed, injuring three others, including a woman named Geeta, whose condition is stated to be critical. In a separate accident near Bilsi Road in Bisoli area, truck driver Yogesh (32) died after a eucalyptus tree uprooted and fell on his vehicle, the police said.
Another youth, Anshul Sharma (22), a resident of Sahukara locality in Bisoli, succumbed to injuries after a tree fell on him during the storm when he was on his way to deliver food to his father, they said.
Additional superintendent of police (Rural) Hridesh Kumar Kataria said five people have died in storm-related incidents in Bisoli and Faizganj Behta police station areas, while around five others were injured.
In Sonbhadra, one person, identified as Madhav Singh (38), died after a tree fell on him when he stopped to take shelter under it. The incident took place in the Punnuganj police station area, the police said.