© AP Photo/Altaf QadriA woman walks over branches of a tree that were uprooted following the storm.
A massive dust storm and thunder squall stopped the city in its tracks on Friday evening, bringing relief from the severe heat but leaving a trail of death, destruction and chaos. Nine people were killed in Delhi and three in Ghaziabad as trees fell on cars and strong winds toppled brick piles. A crashing luggage pile at the airport killed a loader.
More than 350 trees were uprooted, leading to traffic jams. Power supply was snapped for up to five hours in several parts of the city and metro services were disrupted just ahead of evening rush hour. the erratic power supply is further expected to trigger water shortage in the city on Saturday.
Until 4pm, Delhi was preparing for a heat wave, with the weather giving away nothing but a hot, dry summer day. The Met office had reported the presence of a light haze over Delhi during the first half of the day because of which many thought that cloud formation would not be possible. By 4.15 pm, the skies darkened and 15 minutes later, a storm was raging, catching commuters unawares.
