Jalpaiguri, May 17 -- A fierce storm caused widespread devastation in the Sulkapara area of Nagrakata on Saturday evening, damaging nearly 500 houses within just 15 minutes and triggering panic among residents. Strong gusty winds blew away tin roofs, uprooted trees and electricity poles, and snapped power lines, disrupting electricity and communication services in several areas.
According to local residents Md Ibrahim the weather suddenly turned bad at around 7:30 pm on Saturday as dark clouds gathered, followed by an intense storm. As the wind speed increased rapidly, terrified residents rushed indoors in search of shelter. Many reportedly hid under beds and in corners of their homes to protect themselves from falling debris.
Several houses were extensively damaged after trees collapsed on them. Local sources said the Chattandu School in Sulkapara also suffered damage during the storm. Agricultural land in nearby areas is feared to have sustained crop losses as well. Reports said at least two people were injured in the incident. Sulkapara Gram Panchayat head Surjit Shaibya said around 500 houses have been damaged, though the full extent of the destruction is yet to be determined. "The administration has started preparing a list of the affected families," he said.
The storm has revived memories of last year's devastating flood in the Bamandanga-Tandu area of Nagrakata, where 11 people from Model Village lost their lives. Nagrakata BDO Jayaprakash Mondal said administrative teams had already reached the affected areas. "Information is being collected from other storm-hit locations and necessary relief measures are being taken," he said.
Meanwhile, a severe storm accompanied by heavy rainfall on Saturday night caused widespread damage across Tapan and adjoining areas of South Dinajpur district also. District Magistrate Bala Subramanian T said Tapan block suffered the worst damage. No casualties have been reported so far.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.