LUCKNOW, May 30 -- A powerful storm accompanied by heavy rain, lightning and strong winds swept across several districts of Uttar Pradesh on Thursday night and Friday, killing at least 14 people, damaging homes and infrastructure, disrupting power and rail services, and causing hardship for residents. The worst toll was reported from Kaushambi, where four people, including a woman and her two young children, died after an uprooted neem tree crashed onto their mud house during the storm. Another man was killed when a tin shed blown away by strong winds collapsed on him. Pratapgarh reported the death of an 85-year-old woman after a shed pillar gave way, while two people died in separate wall-collapse incidents in Prayagraj. A senior official, however, said casualty figures and damage reports are currently being compiled and verified. Lightning strikes claimed three more lives in eastern UP. A farmer in Azamgarh, a retired railway employee in Ballia and a 32-year-old woman in Deoria were killed after being struck by lightning. The woman's brother sustained burn injuries. In Saharanpur, sudden flooding triggered by torrential rain in the Shakambhari Devi area swept away more than a dozen vehicles. Two women died after being caught in the strong current. Rescue operations continued through the night as authorities searched for missing vehicles and assessed the damage. The storm also claimed the life of a 55-year-old labourer in Mathura. Om Prakash was sleeping on roof of his house when a tin sheet blown off a neighbouring house struck him fatally. Beyond fatalities, the storm caused extensive destruction across the state. Trees, tin sheds, huts and electricity poles were uprooted in many districts. More than 50 power poles were damaged in Mainpuri alone, while power supply was disrupted across parts of the Braj region. A tree fell on a moving car in Mathura, though its occupants escaped unharmed. Rail traffic on the Gorakhpur-Bihar and Gorakhpur-Varanasi routes was disrupted for nearly three hours after trees fell on tracks. Residents faced power outages, blocked roads, disrupted transport and long traffic snarls as authorities worked to restore normalcy. (With inputs from Prayagraj, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Agra and Meerut)...