At least 76 people were killed and over 200 injured when a severe nor'wester packed with a windspeed of 125 kmph raged for 40 minutes through North Dinajpur district in West Bengal, four neighbouring districts of Bihar and five in Assam.
While 39 people were killed in North Dinajpur, an equal number perished in four districts of Kishanganj, Araria, Supaul and Purnia in Bihar in the storm that hit at midnight last night.
Four persons were killed in Mankachar under Dhubri district of Assam while the nor'wester also affected Jorhat, Tinsukia, Sibsagar and Kamrup districts of the state, official sources said.
North Dinajpur District Magistrate Ramanuj Chakraborty said 17 people died in Karandighi block, six in Goalpokhor block, seven in Raiganj, while Chakulia and Hemtabad blocks accounted for three deaths each. Two others died in Kaliaganj and one person in Itahar.
In Bihar's Kishenganj, Araria, Purnia and Supaul districts 33 people were killed and 125 injured, official sources said. Regional Meteorological Centre Director G C Debnath said the storm was a severe nor'wester.
West Bengal chief secretary Ashok Mohan Chakrabarty, who put the toll at 32, told reporters in Kolkata that the storm levelled 50,000-60,000 dwelling units totally and a few partially.
Tin and thatched roofs were wrenched off and hurled at a distance in villages lining both sides of the National Highway in North Dinajpur.
Also Read
Bamboo groves in an area of over 500 sq ft. Area at one village was completely uprooted as the storm ripped through Kaliaganj, Raiganj, Karandighi and Hemtabad blocks in North Dinajpur, Civil Defence Minister Sreekumar Mukherjee said.
The storm, which was accompanied by rain, uprooted thousands of trees and left telephone and electric poles twisted, he said.