Thunderstorm kills one, causes havoc

JAIPUR: One person died and five were injured, three seriously, on Sunday evening as heavy thunderstorm hit some parts of Korei, Bari, Rasulpur and Vyasnagar in the district.The deceased has been identified as Sarathi Malik (60) of Haripur village in Rasulpur block. Sarathi died when a branch of a tree fell on her while she was collecting mangoes from an orchard in the village.  While the five injured were rushed to government hospitals at Korei, Jajpur Road and Bari, two of them were later shifted to the district headquarters hospital.The duo of Khasagadia village in Korei block had sustained serious injuries after a wall of their house collapsed.The thunderstorm damaged hundreds of houses, uprooted trees and toppled electric poles during its 15 minutes of fury, blocking roads and disrupting electricity supply in three blocks and urban body areas of the district, official sources said.Reports said gale at an average speed of 150 km per hour swept through the villages, snapping telephone and electric wires. It was followed by heavy downpour.In Vyasnagar municipality, road communication was affected as uprooted trees, hoarding and bill boards blocked roads. The shade of the footbridge at Jajpur Keonjhar Road railway station was also blown away.The thunderstorm had affected train services while traffic jams were witnessed at many points of the municipal areas. The services were restored after the storm.Korei was the worst-hit with hundreds of houses damaged at Ochinda, Mulari, Khasagadia, Tajpur, Khosalpur and Karada villages. A rice mill and many cabins in the rural market were also destroyed.“As per preliminary reports, the storm completely destroyed 50 houses while over 200 have been partially damaged in 11 villages under three blocks. Electric poles have been uprooted at several places affecting power supply. The victims were provided dry food on Sunday night. A free kitchen has been opened in the worst-affected Korei for two days,” said Collector Anil Kumar Samal. Relief would be provided to the victims as per government norms after damage assessment, he added.