Death toll rises in India superstorms

AGRA, India - A series of powerful superstorms that tore through India this week have killed 143 people, as officials warned Friday the death toll could rise with more extreme weather expected.

A deadly dust storm claimed 121 lives in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Punjab, while an electrical storm, in which lightning struck an estimated 40,000 times, left 21 people dead in the country's south.

Thousands of people in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan had their homes destroyed by the freak storm, which was packing winds of up to 130 kilometers per hour.