Kendrapara: More than 40 houses were damaged and several trees uprooted as a ‘tornado’ struck Monday night the Talachua area under Rajnagar block in Kendrapara district. The tornado left a trail of destruction and lasted for 10 minutes. Eyewitnesses said that the four-kilometre long Talachua locality, looked as if the area had been bombed.
Bapi a local resident said, “I was standing outside my house when suddenly the sky became dark and a strong wind started blowing. I could see a sky-touching whirlwind of black cloud spiraling towards me.”
As the funnel shaped monster sped towards the villages, it started to rain accompanied by hailstones. “It looked like the trunk of an elephant touching the ground was advancing towards our village at high speed. I rushed inside and could see a bicycle being hurled in the air at a height of about 20 feet,” another villager recalled. Roofs of houses were ripped off, trees were uprooted and electric poles upended due to wind speed.
Kendrapara District Collector Samant Verma, along with other officials, reached the spot to review the damage caused due to tornado, Tuesday. The administration is making arrangements to provide cooked food to the affected people, added Verma.
It should be stated here that last month, Cyclone ‘Amphan’ had caused severe damage in coastal districts of Odisha and West Bengal and claimed several lives.
PNN