Patna: Sixteen persons, including three children, were killed and more than 25 injured when a high velocity storm struck eastern Bihar on Friday morning. This is the second instance of a thunderstorm hitting the State after a Nor'wester hit West Bengal, Bihar and Assam last month, claiming more than 130 lives and rendering lakhs of people homeless. According to Disaster Management Principal Secretary Vyasji Mishra, the number of those rendered homeless now is yet to be ascertained. However, unconfirmed reports coming in from Kaimur, Gaya, Nalanda and Rohtas districts, which bore the brunt of the thunderstorm, stated that hundreds of homes had been destroyed. Mr. Mishra said the State Government had announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs.1.5 lakh each for the kith and kin of the deceased. While the official death count is 16, with 10 deaths reported from Kaimur, four in Nalanda, and one each in Gaya and Rohtas districts, the reports also mentioned a death each in Nawada and Khagaria districts. Kaimur was the worst-affected with 10 casualties, including three children who died when the roof of a private school collapsed. According to official reports from Gaya, one person was killed and over 12 people were injured in the storm. Reports from Biharsharif in Nalanda said four persons were killed and five injured when a circus tent and a hotel wall collapsed in Giriyak and Rajgir respectively. U.P. also hit PTI reporting from Lucknow says at least 14 people were killed and 20 injured as a heavy dust storm accompanied by rains lashed parts of central and eastern Uttar Pradesh on Friday. Nine people lost their lives and 12 others were injured in Jaunpur district due to the dust storm early in the morning, officials said. In Ballia, lightning claimed four lives and in Ghazipur one person was killed and seven injured in the dust storm, they said. High velocity winds uprooted hoardings, trees, electric and telephone poles, disrupting communication links and traffic flow at some places.-- PTI