New Delhi  -  At least 19 people were killed in India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh when it was hit by fierce dust storms that uprooted trees and caused many houses to collapse, officials said Tuesday.

Revenue officials in Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state, said while the details of damage from the storms on Monday were still being collected, deaths were reported from 10 districts including Sonebhadra, Unnao, Etawah, Meerut and Rae Bareilly.

"The highest number of deaths were reported from Sonebhadra and Unnao where 10 people died in the storms," revenue official Ram Naresh said by telephone from state capital Lucknow.

"Most of the deaths were caused in incidents of house collapses or trees and electrical poles falling down on locals or their dwellings," he added.

Strong winds of up to 90 kilometres an hour accompanied by rains also disrupted power supplies in the affected districts.

Indian Meteorological Department officials said the storms were typical of the pre-monsoon period and were caused by an "upper air cyclonic pressure formed over the northern regions of the country."

The officials said Uttar Pradesh will continue to witness squalls and cloudy skies for the rest of the week. The state was hit by dust storms on May 14 which claimed 94 lives and left several injured.

Local agencies said many animals were killed in the storms since the past fortnight, which have also destroyed the mango, musk-melon and watermelon crops in several areas in the state. (dpa)