Two days of heavy rain on 25 and 26 September have waterlogged large parts of Uttar Pradesh in India, causing heavy damage to homes and cropland. By the latest count, the floods have killed 56 people and injured 46.

State government figures show seven deaths in Sitapur district alone, five each in Lakhimpur Kheri, Bahraich and Balrampur, and four each in Ayodhya and Gorakhpur.

Rain, storms and waterlogging have damaged 1,021 houses across the state, with Hardoi, Sitapur, Chandauli, Auraiya, Gonda, Hamirpur, Shahjahanpur and Bahraich among the worst hit. The government counts 107 animals dead: 28 in Hardoi, 16 in Sitapur and 14 in Kannauj.

The state weather office said Uttar Pradesh received an average of 66.5 mm of rain in 48 hours against a normal 7.6 mm for the period, about 775 percent above normal. Fifty-six of the state's 75 districts recorded 'large excess' rainfall.

The weather office forecast heavy rain in eastern and very heavy rain in western Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, with warnings of lightning and strong winds.

This report is based on a news report by Debdeep Chakraborty for Ei Samay.

Photo: NASA, MODIS Rapid Response / Wikimedia Commons (public domain)

Source: Ei Samay