Hailstorm Wreaks Havoc In Keonjhar, Destroys 50 Houses

Keonjhar: More than 50 thatched and asbestos houses were destroyed as Nor’wester accompanied by hailstones lashed most parts of Keonjhar district on Monday afternoon.

People in Old Town, Ranki, Sarasa, Thakurpatna and Sirisipal were worst affected by the storm as electric poles and trees were uprooted at these places.

“It was just like snowfall as the several places felt as if covered in white snow during the brief storm of nearly half an hour. Surprisingly, several roads, houses and agricultural fields were covered with hailstones”, a local resident said.

However, no casualty was reported from anywhere in the district.

Meanwhile, as many as eight places across the state including Balangir (41.5), Sundargarh (41.5), Malkangiri (41.2), Jharsuguda (41.2), Sambalpur (41.0) and Hirakud (40.9) recorded an average temperature above 40 degree Celsius.

Similarly, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack recorded a temperature of 39.0 and 37.0 degree Celsius respectively.