Lightning claims 4 lives as rain, strong winds lash west U.P.
Those who died included two men in Kutubpur area under the Nasirpur police station limits and another man at Pawrai village under the Eka police station limits in Firozabad
Lightning claimed three lives in Firozabad and killed one person in Etah district as rain and strong winds lashed the Braj region of western Uttar Pradesh and some other areas of the state on Friday.
Those who died included two men in Kutubpur area under the Nasirpur police station limits and another man at Pawrai village under the Eka police station limits in Firozabad. A teenage girl died in Etah.
A tree fell on a school van in Firozabad’s Matsena area. While the students were rescued promptly by breaking the windows of the vehicle, it took a long time to bring the driver out. Electricity supply was affected because of heavy rain and strong winds in Firozabad.
Trees and hoardings were uprooted in Agra where some schools were closed because of bad weather.
Similar weather was witnessed in Mainpuri, Mathura, Aligarh, Hathras and Kasganj districts on Friday. Several areas were waterlogged.
The highest wind speed of about 70 kmph was recorded over Gautam Buddha Nagar even as Bulandshahr received 30 mm rainfall and Etawah 20 mm.
In Firozabad, all three men died because of lightning, assistant superintendent of police (SP), rural, Akhilesh Bhadoria confirmed.
“The first incident took place under the Nasirpur police station limits in Firozabad where three labourers working under the MNREGA scheme took shelter under a tree when heavy rain lashed the area. Two of them, Satyendra and Vishnu, both resident of Kutubpur, died because of lightning,” Bhadoria said.
“Devendra was injured and taken for treatment. The bodies (of the two others) were sent for post-mortem,” the ASP said.
In the other incident, Jai Dayal (47), resident of Pawrai village, died because of lightning, the officer said. Jai Dayal was preparing for the wedding of his daughter on May 4.
In Etah, a lightning strike killed a teenage girl while her sister suffered burns at Bhagwantpur village under Sakeet police station on Friday morning. Both sisters were in a farm area when the incident took place. The sister was admitted to hospital afterwards.
The day temperature plunged below the 30- degree Celsius mark in Meerut and Aligarh (29 degrees Celsius each) and Agra (28.8 degrees Celsius), which is 10.2 degrees Celsius below normal.
In the last 24 hours, light to moderate rain/thundershowers were also recorded at isolated places over East Uttar Pradesh. During this period, hailstorm was witnessed at isolated places over the region (Gorakhpur).
The maximum temperature in the state is likely to gradually fall by 2 to 3 degrees Celsius during the next 4 to 5 days and rise by 2 to 4 degrees Celsius thereafter, according to the met department’s forecast.
The minimum temperature is likely to rise slightly by 2 to 3 degree Celsius during the next four to five days.
Strong surface winds (speed 25-35 Kmph) are very likely over the state. IMD has issued warning of thunderstorm accompanied with lightening/gusty winds very likely at isolated places over the state.
In Lucknow, the weather remained pleasant on Friday with the maximum and minimum temperatures recorded at 34.2 and 25.2 degrees Celsius. The forecast for the state capital is partly cloudy sky with the possibility of thundery development/drizzle. The maximum and minimum temperature on Saturday will be around 34 degrees Celsius and 26 degrees Celsius respectively.
Rainfall and strong winds brought both relief and disruption to Meerut and neighboring districts. The downpour began around 6 am and continued for nearly three hours, cooling the region but caused widespread waterlogging, impacting roads and highways across the city.
With dark clouds reducing visibility, vehicles on highways had to use headlights during the early morning hours. Water accumulated in several areas of Meerut, from city streets to major highways, while nearby districts also reported heavy rainfall.
The meteorological department, which had issued an alert for rain and storms two days earlier, attributed the change to an active western disturbance.
UP Shahi, a senior meteorologist at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology, explained, “The activation of a western disturbance caused this shift, leading to a drop in temperatures and increased humidity.”
Shahi highlighted that the rainfall would likely aid crops, though late-standing wheat fields could face potential damage.