This is the scary moment a dust storm sweeps over a city in northwest India in scenes reminiscent of a Hollywood disaster movie.

The powerful dust storm swept across several parts of western and northern India on May 2, killing 79 people.

The storm, which is still raging in many areas, injured hundreds more, uprooted trees and disrupted power supply.

Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand were among the states, which were left devastated by the high-speed dust storm that started around 7pm on May 2 and wreaked havoc for hours.

Thirty-six people were killed in Agra district alone.

In the north-west state of Rajasthan, many victims were sleeping as their homes were brought down by the storm.

A chilling video shows a huge dust storm taking over the city of Bikaner in Rajasthan that looks like something out of a Hollywood movie.

Normal life was affected in many other states, including the capital New Delhi, as a squall and dust storm followed by heavy rain lashed them.

Officials have declared high alert and ordered rescue and relief operations to help the affected people.