Hailstorm, rain lash Gorakhpur, Basti divisions; lightning kills 4
Rain alert issued for 50 UP districts till May 6; chief minister tells officials to ensure financial aid to bereaved families within 24 hours
LUCKNOW/GORAKHPUR Thunderstorms, hailstorm and rain lashed Gorakhpur-Basti divisions on Thursday morning while lightning killed four people in the region. The showers were caused by a western disturbance originating in Afghanistan, which affected several parts of eastern UP, according to the Meteorological department.
A rain alert was issued for 50 districts of UP till May 6. “Cyclonic conditions over Rajasthan, western disturbance flowing in from Iran and mixing tendencies of easterly and westerly winds will bring rain to some parts of the Terai belt on Friday, followed by more parts of western UP,” explained Mohd Danish, senior scientist with the IMD, Lucknow.
“This trend of rain will continue over isolated places in the state for at least five to six days,” he added.
The maximum temperature ranged between 30°C and 32°C — approximately 8°C lower than the previous day.
In Gorakhpur, Sushila Devi, wife of Devesh Yadav, sustained fatal burn injuries after being struck by lightning while working in her field in Khorabar, Gorakhpur. Saurabh, 13, also died in similar circumstances. In Basti, Ram Charan, 60, and his wife Chandravati, 55, died after lightning struck them while they were cutting grass in Rehar village.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath conveyed his condolences to the bereaved families and directed that financial assistance be disbursed to them within 24 hours. As per his instructions, immediate crop damage surveys had commenced. Affected farmers will receive compensation within 24 hours to ensure swift relief and support.
Adityanath instructed district magistrates in the affected areas to visit the sites, assess crop damage and provide timely relief to farmers, said a government statement, adding that “four people died in lightening strikes.”
He also directed officials to prioritise drainage arrangements to mitigate the impact of waterlogging caused by the storms.
“Sudden changes in weather conditions were reported across several districts of Uttar Pradesh, including Gorakhpur and Basti, where heavy rain, strong winds, and lightning caused significant destruction. According to relief commissioner Bhanu Chandra Goswami, the weather turned bad abruptly on May 1 in various districts of Purvanchal, causing human casualties and damage to standing crops,” the statement said.
Strong winds uprooted trees and disrupted power supply in several rural areas of Siddharthnagar. However, farmers expressed optimism, saying rainfall would facilitate field ploughing and other agricultural activities.
On Thursday, Gorakhpur, Ayodhya and Barabanki recorded the lowest maximum temperatures at 33.6 degrees, 34 degrees and 34.2 degrees, respectively. Barabanki and Gorakhpur recorded the lowest minimum temperatures at 23.4 and 23.6 degrees, respectively, followed by Hardoi, Churk, Basti and Bulandshahr at 24 degrees each.
