Bhubaneswar: Nor’westers and hailstorms wreaked havoc in parts of Odisha Monday, officials said.
Strong winds, accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning, rocked Athagarh town in Cuttack district and Daspalla area in Nayagarh district, they said.
A car was damaged after a cement structure put up by the Athagarh NAC fell on it, they added.
As several trees fell on the roads in the Daspalla block of Nayagarh district, vehicular movement was disrupted. Later, fire service personnel, along with locals, cleared the roads, officials said.
The pandal put up in Daspalla town for the ‘Lankapodi’ festival was damaged. The head of the effigy of ‘Ravan’ flew away due to the strong wind, said an organiser.
Hailstorm and heavy rain damaged several kutcha houses and crops in Dharamgarh block of Kalahandi district, and Patnagarh and Khaprakhol blocks of Bolangir district, officials said.
The rain and thunderstorm, however, brought down the mercury by several notches, with not a single place recording temperature above 40 degrees Celsius, according to the IMD.
Boudh was the hottest place in the state, recording a temperature of 38.3 degrees Celsius.
The regional met office said thunderstorms, lightning and gusty surface wind speeds reaching 30 kmph to 40 kmph are expected in Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur, Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur and Cuttack districts Tuesday.
The regional met office has predicted that the nor’wester and rains will persist till April 10.
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