104 people killed as storms and rain batter Uttar Pradesh; relief ops underway

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], May 14 : Uttar Pradesh Relief Commissioner Harikesh Bhaskar on Thursday informed that at least 104 people have lost their lives across Uttar Pradesh due to relentless rain, lightning, and thunderstorms in various parts of the state over the past 36 to 48 hours.
The Relief Commissioner added that continuous monitoring is being conducted, and the 24-hour Integrated Control and Command Centre remains fully operational.
Orders have also been issued to all officials to conduct field inspections. Furthermore, the Chief Minister has announced compensation measures, and financial relief is currently being disbursed to the affected individuals.
Earlier in the day, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath directed state officials to provide immediate assistance to victims of the recent storms and lightning. The Chief Minister has ordered the prompt release of compensation following reports of casualties and property damage over the last 24 hours.
Yogi directed officials to immediately visit the affected sites and provide assistance to the victims, release compensation and instructed districts to provide updates on the situation every 3 hours.
He has further asked all District Magistrates to prioritise relief work. He also directed that compensation disbursal, rescue operations, and other related work should be updated on social media.
According to the press release, information regarding loss of human lives, livestock loss, and crop damage has come from 19 districts, including Barabanki, Bahraich, Kanpur Dehat, Basti, Sambhal, Hardoi, and Unnao. Additionally, 130 livestock (both large and small) have perished, and 98 houses have sustained damage.
CM Yogi has expressed condolences to the families of the deceased.
On the other hand, on Tuesday, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr Jitendra Singh, launched two advanced weather forecasting systems developed under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), aimed at providing hyper-local, AI-enabled and impact-based weather services across the country.