Cyclonic storm kills three, damages 1,000 houses in Tripura

AGARTALA - At least three people were killed and over 10 injured as a cyclonic storm lashed several parts of Tripura, leaving behind a trail of destruction, officials said Monday.

The pre-monsoon rains accompanied by strong winds and hailstorm Sunday night damaged more than 1,000 houses and killed many cattle in western and southern Tripura.

“Three people, including a woman, were killed in separate incidents of wall collapse and lightning at Teliamura in western Tripura,” a relief department official told reporters.

Ten people who were hurt in these incidents have been shifted to government hospitals, the official said.

Hundreds of trees, telephone and electric poles were uprooted in the squall, badly affecting the movement of vehicles Monday.

“Civil defence workers and district officials are busy providing relief. Telecommunication and power corporation personnel are working to restore communication lines and power supply,” the official said.

Similar cyclonic rainstorms accompanied by heavy lightning since March have also killed 15 more people in Tripura, damaged 15,000 houses and caused large scale destruction.

Meteorological department director Dilip Saha told IANS: “The seasonal Nor’wester (cyclonic rainstorm) would continue till the onset of monsoon next month. The recurring Nor’wester is now active in entire eastern and northeast India and few other places in the country.”

“The northeastern region, due to its topography, is a lightning-prone area. Lightning claims on an average 100 lives every year specially during March to May,” said Swapan Bhowmik, a physicist of the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Agartala.