More than 100 people killed after heavy rain hits India, Nepal

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By Jatindra Dash and Gopal Sharma

NEW DELHI (Reuters) -More than 100 people have died since Wednesday after unseasonably heavy rain lashed parts of India and Nepal, officials said, as the weather department predicted more rain for the region.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) warned of multiple weather hazards on Wednesday, with heatwave conditions in the west and thunderstorms in the eastern and central region although the torrential rain associated with the monsoon usually starts in June.

At least 82 people have died in rain-related incidents in Bihar over the last two days, the eastern state’s disaster management department said.

In India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, meanwhile, authorities said 18 people had died due to lightning and storm-related incidents.

In neighbouring Nepal, lightning strikes and heavy rain killed at least eight people, National Disaster Authority officials said.

India’s weather office expects more rain with thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds over central and eastern India until Monday.

Intense heatwaves in the summer months of the recent past have killed several people.

State-run IMD said last week that India was expected to experience a much hotter April, with above normal temperatures across most of the country.

(Reporting by Tanvi Mehta in New Delhi, Jatindra Dash in Bhubaneswar, Saurabh Sharma in Lucknow and Gopal Sharma in Kathmandu; Editing by Kim Coghill and Kate Mayberry)