Bhubaneswar: A Kalabaisakhi (nor’wester) storm struck several parts of Odisha on Thursday evening, unleashing strong winds, heavy rainfall, lightning, and hail across the state.
The intense weather system provided much-needed relief from the recent spell of scorching heat but also caused significant damage to property, uprooted trees, disrupted power supply, and affected normal life in many districts.
Some places in the city also experienced power disruptions for over an hour.
Trees were uprooted in several parts including Kharavela Nagar, Saheed Nagar, Nayapalli, BJB Nagar and Ahalya Nagar, in the state capital and Orissa High Court campus, CDA sector 6 and 7, Shelter Chhak and Chauliaganj in Cuttack. Fire services personnel were deployed to remove the uprooted trees and clear the roads.
In Bhubaneswar, lightning struck a house in Somnath Basti area of Niladri Vihar, injuring three members of a family. Local residents quickly rescued the victims and rushed them to Capital Hospital. Given their critical condition, they were later shifted to a hospital in Cuttack for advanced treatment. Chandrasekharpur police reached the spot and launched an investigation.
In a separate incident at Old Station Bazaar in the capital, a large iron hoarding under construction collapsed due to strong winds and rain, crushing one car and two motorcycles parked beneath it. Fortunately, no one was injured. Fire brigade teams were promptly deployed to clear the debris.
Similar scenes were witnessed in Cuttack, where a massive hoarding on a shop near Sati Chaura Mashani Chowk came crashing down amid heavy rain and gusty winds. Fire services personnel rushed to the spot to remove the fallen structure. Heavy rainfall and scattered debris also disrupted vehicular movement in several parts of the city.
In Ganjam district’s Sankhemundi area, strong winds at midnight caused a huge tree to fall on a shop house.
Several areas in Puri district were severely affected. In Astranga and Kakatpur, heavy rain accompanied by strong winds and lightning uprooted numerous large trees, throwing normal life out of gear. In Krushnaprasad block of Puri, a massive banyan tree collapsed onto a house late at night while ten family members were inside. Miraculously, all escaped unhurt. However, several electricity poles were damaged in the incident, leading to power outages in the area.
Thunderstorms with rain and hail were also reported in Angul, Balangir, Sundargarh, and Sonepur districts.
In the 24 hours ending at 8:30 am Thursday, Chandrapur in Rayagada and Jamsolaghat in Mayurbhanj received the highest rainfall of 70 mm each.
According to Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre Director Manorama Mohanty, the nor’wester activity is being triggered by a trough running from southeast Uttar Pradesh to north interior Odisha across Chhattisgarh. As a result, maximum daytime temperatures are expected to drop by 2 to 3 degrees Celsius over the next two days, with thunderstorm activity accompanied by lightning and gusty winds so likely to persist in parts of the state till May 6. Several districts, including Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Khurda, Nayagarh, Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri, Keonjhar, and Nabarangpur, are likely to be affected.
On Thursday, only six places in Odisha recorded 40°C or above, compared to 15 places the previous day. Balangir remained the hottest at 42.2°C, followed by Titilagarh at 41.3°C, while Bhubaneswar and Cuttack recorded 37.1°C and 35.8°C respectively.
While the rains have offered welcome relief from the sweltering heat, authorities have urged residents to remain cautious during the forecast period of thunderstorms and strong winds.
