The storm flattened homes and ripped off roofs in Rajasthan. afp
THE death toll from freak storms that hit India climbed above 140 on Friday as people told how they had no time to escape the ferocious winds which tore down homes and toppled walls.
Amid warnings of further wild weather, thousands of families spent the night in the open air in the northern states of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
They told how 130 kilometer an hour winds carrying choking sand hit so quickly late Wednesday that they had no time to reach safety from falling walls and trees.
The dust storms claimed 121 lives in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and nearby Uttarakhand and Punjab states, according to latest official tolls.
Separately 21 people were killed by lightning in two southern states.
Authorities in Uttar Pradesh, where 76 died, and Rajasthan, where the storms claimed 39 lives, battled to restore power, clear roads and help people who lost houses.