Severe thunderstorms lashed many parts of the country on Wednesday night, killing at least 127 people in the last 24 hours and leaving a trail of destruction, with houses flattened, trees uprooted and electricity poles in disarray, reports Times of India.

The maximum devastation occurred in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, where the storms claimed 112 lives. Uttar Pradesh reported 73 deaths, of which 46 were in Agra district alone.

As many as 39 people died in Rajasthan, followed by seven in Telangana, four in Uttarakhand and two each in Jharkhand and Punjab. The fury of unusually strong winds and heavy rains lasted for up to three hours in many places on Wednesday night, but the full extent of the damage was known only on Thursday.

With 24 deaths, Kheragarh tehsil in Agra near UP Rajasthan border bore the maximum brunt of the storm in the district. Deaths were reported from other parts of the state too. These included three each in Bijnor and Kanpur Dehat, two each in Saharanpur, Hamirpur, Mirzapur and Kanpur city; and one each in Bareilly, Pilibhit, Chitrakoot, Rae Bareli, Unnao, Mathura, Amroha, Banda, Sitapur, Sambhal, Etawah, Allahabad and Rampur. Nearly 90 people were injured in the state, says Times of India.

In Rajasthan, the toll was at 33 on Thursday, but unofficial sources said it had climbed to 39 by evening. Over 200 people have been injured in the storm which affected Bharatpur, Dholpur and Alwar districts. After a horrifying night, Thursday morning brought in a host of woes as people woke up to disruption in water and power supply.

As many as 12,700 electricity polls were uprooted and 1,523 transformers damaged in the three districts. More than 50,000 trees were destroyed.  

In Telangana, heavy rains triggered by a cyclonic circulation killed seven people across the state. Strong winds plunged many areas in Hyderabad into darkness. Deaths were reported from Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy, Nalgonda and Warangal districts. In Punjab, two people were killed in Patiala city when the boundary wall of an underconstruction house collapsed on them. The victims died on the spot within minutes. In Jharkhand, two women were killed in Sahibganj district when they were struck by lightning.