Unpredicted storms leave trail of destruction, 5 dead

A violent storm that apparently caught the India Meteorological Department (IMD) unawares lashed Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) early on Friday, killing five people, uprooting hundreds of trees, disrupting flight schedules and deluging the city with the second-heaviest May day showers in 124 years.

- Jasjeev Gandhiok and Snehil Sinha

NEW DELHI:

The Capital received 77mm of rain during the three-hour downpour, which began around 5am. Within minutes, fierce winds that touched speeds of 80km/hour whipped through the city, bending trees and snapping branches which crashed onto homes and vehicles.

Traffic disruptions were reported as commuters tried to navigate through flooded streets and past fallen branches.

A 26-year-old woman and her three children were killed when a tree was uprooted and fell on their house in Najafgarh, said officials. They were identified as Jyoti Devi (26) and her children—Aryan Kumar (7), Rishabh Kumar (5) and Priyansh Kumar (seven months). Her husband Ajay Kumar (30) sustained minor injuries in his chest and wrist.