UP: Toll from severe storms reaches 111
What's the story
The toll from severe storms in Uttar Pradesh this week has risen to at least 111. The extreme weather conditions on Wednesday included gales, lightning, and torrential rain. These storms caused widespread destruction by ripping off tin roofs from buildings and uprooting trees that blocked roads, as was also seen in footage circulated on social media and in reports.
Pre-monsoon activity
Lightning strikes common cause of death
Uttar Pradesh, home to over 240 million people, is no stranger to such storms during the summer months before the monsoon season. Lightning strikes are a common cause of death in these weather conditions. The state's Relief Commissioner's office had initially reported 89 deaths and 72 injuries on May 13, but later updated the toll to 111 as more reports came in.
Eyewitness account
Man thrown into air survives intense storm
A widely shared video showed a man being thrown into the air in Bareilly district as a building's tin roof was torn off. The Press Trust of India (PTI) spoke to Nanhe Ansari, a laborer who survived the incident. He said he was trying to secure a tin roof with a rope when an intense gust lifted the sheet metal, throwing him nearly 50 feet into the air and landing him in a maize field filled with water.
Relief measures
Financial assistance to affected families
In light of the devastation caused by the storms, officials have been directed to provide financial assistance to affected families. The extreme weather is part of widespread pre-monsoon thunderstorm activity due to unstable atmospheric conditions. India's weather office has warned in recent years about an increase in extreme weather events like intense thunderstorms and lightning, which experts attribute to rising temperatures and changing climate patterns.