Four persons were killed in Delhi and Ghaziabad during a major storm that hit Delhi-NCR on Wednesday evening. While many vehicles were damaged and trees uprooted, traffic was disrupted at several locations, and Metro services were affected. Also, power outages because of trees falling on electricity lines were reported from across the Capital.
An unidentified man in a wheelchair died around 7.50 pm at Lodhi Road after a high-beam electric cable fell on him, Delhi Police said. In Gokulpuri, a 22-year-old man named Azhar got trapped under a tree and died. A resident of Maujpur, he was declared brought dead at the hospital.
Kavinagar Assistant Commissioner of Police Swatantra Singh said that around 8 pm, information was received that a 40-year-old man had died after a tree fell on him in Ghaziabad. “The man has been identified as Muzamil… He was on a bike when the tree fell on him…,” he added.
Also, a 38-year-old woman died in Ghaziabad after the wall of BMR Public School collapsed on her jhuggi. Four others were injured in the incident.
Officers of the Delhi Fire Services said they received more than 25 calls about trees falling. Two trees fell outside the Nizamuddin police station, crushing two cars. In Teen Murti, a taxi was damaged due to a tree falling.
Trees falling at multiple locations — Copernicus Marg, Teen Murti Marg, Mathura Road, and KG Marg, among others — disrupted traffic in the Capital, the Delhi Traffic Police said.
Metro operations were also affected. “Due to the sudden windstorm, there has been some damage to OHE (overhead equipment) or external objects falling/coming onto Metro tracks at certain locations,” a Metro spokesperson said. Normal services resumed on the Yellow Line by 10.05 pm and on the Red Line by 11.03 pm.
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Meanwhile, 12 flights were diverted to Jaipur and one to Bombay from Delhi Airport, a source said. An IndiGo flight heading to Srinagar from Delhi faced severe turbulence and damage. While the nose of the aircraft suffered damage due to the weather, the flight landed safely, Srinagar Airport Director Javed Anjum said. On board the flight were Trinamool Congress MPs Derek O’Brien, Sagarika Ghose, Md Nadimul Haque and Mamata Thakur.
Thunderstorm and hailstorm accompanied by strong winds and rain led to power disruptions in parts of Delhi. With power lines damaged by the falling of trees, the electricity supply was suspended to many areas to prevent electrocution.
“…power disruptions were witnessed in areas across the Capital, such as parts of Bawana, Narela, Jahangirpuri, Civil Lines, Shakti Nagar, Model Town, Wazirabad, Dhirpur, Burari,” Tata Power DDL, which supplies power to North Delhi, said.
“It is important to note that tree cutting and removal… is a time-consuming process carried out in coordination with the civic agencies. Additionally, traffic congestion because of fallen trees is delaying the movement of our teams in some locations,” BSES said, adding that it too had to cut power in several areas to prevent electrocution.
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In Noida, several areas like Bisrakh Mor, DND flyover, Film City, Sector 52 Metro Station, and Haibatpur Kisan Chowk, saw huge traffic. A tree fell on a vehicle on Greater Noida NTPC Dadri Road, and a Swift vehicle got damaged, the traffic Police said.
While the main gate of Apex Golf Avenue residential society in Greater Noida West collapsed during the rain and storm, at least four cars were damaged at Ajnara Homes after a tree fell over them. In a similar incident, an eucalyptus tree was uprooted on Dadri Road.