Storm kills 122 in eastern India By Harmeet Shah Singh, CNNApril 15, 2010 -- Updated 1328 GMT (2128 HKT)
An Indian woman cooks beside her collapsed hut in the West Bengal village of Karandighi on Thursday following a storm.STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Storm in eastern India kills 122 in largely rural areas
About 300,000 homes were damaged in West Bengal and Bihar states
The intense 45-minute storm packed 75 mph winds
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New Delhi, India (CNN) -- A short-lived but violent storm has killed 122 people in eastern India, officials said Thursday.
About 300,000 homes were damaged in the storm that cut a deadly path through parts of India's West Bengal and Bihar states early Wednesday, officials said.
The 45-minute storm packed winds of up to 120 kph (75 mph), knocking down communication links in North Dinajpur. The West Bengal district stretches along a 227-kilometer (141-mile) border with Bangladesh to the east and is home to 2.5 million people.
District official P.K. Dutta said 41 people died and 200,000 homes were damaged, many of them flattened, in the largely rural area.
At least 81 more people were killed in the same storm in neighboring Bihar, said the state's disaster-management official Vyasji, who uses one name.
About 100,000 homes were affected in Bihar, India's poorest state.
Relief efforts are under way.
