43 killed in lightning strikes at Bihar, UP
New Delhi, July 05: At least 43 people were killed after being struck by lightning in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar as rains and thunderstorm occurred in several parts of the country on Saturday, officials said.
Instances of wall collapse, uprooting of trees and waterlogging were reported in Maharashtra as heavy rains lashed large parts of the western state, including Mumbai, for the second day on Saturday. However, there were no casualties.
North India witnessed predominantly sultry weather, with Punjab and Haryana recording above-normal day temperatures.
In the national capital, the mercury oscillated between 37 and 40 degrees Celsius in most parts of the city.
Light
rains
and
cloudy
skies
over
the
next
three-four
days
are
expected
to
keep
the
mercury
in
check
in
the
national
capital,
Meteorological
department
officials
said.
Rainfall
was
recorded
at
isolated
places
in
Uttar
Pradesh,
where
at
least
23
people
were
killed
and
29
others
injured
after
being
struck
by
lightning.
According
to
an
official
statement,
eight
people
lost
their
lives
in
Allahabad,
six
in
Mirzapur,
two
in
Kaushambi
and
one
in
Jaunpur.
A
report
from
Bhadohi
said
six
people
were
killed
and
at
least
six
others
injured
in
different
parts
of
the
district.
In Bihar, 20 people were killed after being struck by lightning in five districts on Saturday, officials said.
Nine
casualties
were
reported
from
Bhojpur,
five
from
Saran,
three
from
Kaimur,
two
from
Patna
and
one
death
was
reported
in
Buxar,
the
state
disaster
management
department
said.
Mumbai
suburbs
and
neighbouring
Thane
have
received
more
than
100
mm
rainfall
since
Saturday
morning,
the
India
Meteorological
Department
(IMD)
said.
Interior
Maharashtra
also
received
fairly
widespread
rainfall,
it
said.
The Colaba weather station in south Mumbai recorded 66 mm rainfall between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm, while the Santacruz station recorded 111.4 mm rainfall, according to the IMD.
The Thane-Belapur Industry Association area reported 116 mm rain during this period, it said.
"Mumbai suburbs and Thane (have) already received more than 100 mm rains since morning 8.30 am 4 Jul. City side it's around 50+ mm," Mumbai IMD Deputy Director General K S Hosalikar tweeted.
"Very heavy with isolated extremely heavy rainfall (>200 mm) forecasted for N Konkan including Mumbai in 24 hrs. Entire west coast very active monsoon. TC," he said.
The Alibaug observatory in neighbouring Raigad district recorded 87.4 mm rainfall from 8.30 am to 5.30 pm on Saturday. Harnai in coastal Ratnagiri district, south of Raigad, recorded 52.6 mm rainfall during the period, while the Ratnagiri city weather station recorded 54.1 mm of rainfall.
The disaster management cell of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said waterlogging was reported in low-lying areas of the city such as Sion, Dadar and Milan Subway.
"But
there
has
been
no
complaint
of
major
waterlogging
so
far,"
an
official
said.
"There
were
19
complaints
of
tree
or
branches
falling,
but
nobody
was
injured
in
the
incidents,"
he
said.
In
Thane,
two
incidents
of
wall
collapse
were
reported,
civic
authorities
said.
No
casualties
were
reported
in
both
these
incidents,
an
official
said.
A 12 feet wall collapsed near Khetale Garden in Hajuri area due to heavy downpour in the morning hours, while a six feet wall in Azad Nagar also came crashing down, said Santosh Kadam, chief of the civic disaster management cell.
In
another
incident,
a
portion
of
the
first
floor
of
a
building
in
the
city
collapsed
due
to
heavy
rains.
The
rest
of
the
structure
was
also
weak,
the
official
said.
There
were
no
casualties
in
the
incident,
he
said.
Late
on
Friday,
the
IMD
had
issued
a
red
alert
for
Mumbai,
Raigad
and
Ratnagiri
for
Saturday.
It
had
predicted
heavy
to
very
heavy
rainfall
at
many
places
in
Palghar,
Mumbai,
Thane
and
Raigad
districts.
On
July
1,
the
weather
department
had
forecast
fairly
widespread
to
widespread
rainfall
activity
with
isolated
heavy
to
very
heavy
falls
very
likely
along
the
west
coast,
Gujarat
and
Maharashtra
till
Sunday.
Hot
weather
conditions
persisted
in
neighbouring
states
of
Haryana
and
Punjab.
In
Haryana,
Narnaul
recorded
a
maximum
temperature
of
41.2
degrees
Celsius,
the
Meteorological
Department
said.
In
Hisar,
the
mercury
settled
at
41
degrees
Celsius,
two
notches
above
normal.
Ambala
recorded
a
high
of
35.6
degrees
Celsius,
four
notches
above
normal,
while
the
maximum
temperature
in
Karnal
was
35
degrees
Celsius.
In
Punjab,
Amritsar
recorded
a
high
of
37.7
degrees
Celsius,
two
notches
above
normal.
The
day
temperature
in
Ludhiana
was
36.7
degrees
Celsius,
also
two
notches
above
normal.
The
maximum
temperature
in
Patiala
was
36.5
degrees
Celsius.
Chandigarh, the joint capital of Haryana and Punjab, recorded a high of 35.3 degrees Celsius.
In Uttar Pradesh, Agra was the hottest place as it recorded a maximum temperature of 40 degrees Celsius, the MeT department said. State capital Lucknow recorded a maximum temperature of 35.4 degrees Celsius, and a minimum of 28.2 degrees Celsius, it said.
Some parts of the state received rainfall. Gorakhpur recorded the maximum rainfall at 34.1 mm, followed by 30.2 mm in Jhansi, 19.4 mm in Churk in Sonbhadra district, and 3 mm in Sultanpur, the weather department said.