Thursday, May 14, 2009

27 killed as storm lashes northern India

At least 27 people were killed in India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh in heavy rainstorms that uprooted trees and caused several houses to collapse, news reports and officials said Tuesday.

The PTI news agency, quoting police sources, reported 27 people had died in seven districts including Hardoi, Mathura, Lucknow, Mainpuri, Aligarh, Etawah and Kannauj.

According to the report, the highest number of deaths was reported from Hardoi and Mathura districts where 13 locals lost their lives.

'Most of the deaths were caused in incidents of house collapses or trees and electrical poles falling down on locals or their dwellings,' revenue official Manvendra Gupta said by telephone from the state capital of Lucknow.

Winds up to 110 kilometres per hour also disrupted power supplies in the affected districts. The movement of trains at several places in the state was hampered by the weather, officials said.

The storms were typical of the pre-monsoon period and were caused by an 'upper-air cyclonic pressure formed over the northern regions of the country,' Gupta said. India's monsoon season usually lasts from June to October.

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