15 killed as storm hits dists
L-R: A brick built house at Jagannathpur village in Pirganj upazila under Thakurgaon district gets razed to the ground as a nor'wester lashed the area on Tuesday night. Students of SR High School in Faridpur union under Bakerganj upazila of Barisal district take examination under the open sky as the nor'wester sweeping over the area on Tuesday ravaged the school.Photo: STAR
Nor'wester lashed Thakurgaon, Satkhira, Jessore, Kishoreganj, Narayanganj, Madaripur, Dinajpur, Gaibandha and Barisal districts yesterday and on Tuesday, leaving at least 15 people dead and 80 others injured. The storm also damaged over 9,000 thatched and tin-roofed houses, educational institutions and crops on around 3,500 hectares of land in the affected areas, report our correspondents. In Thakurgaon, at least five people were killed and over 50 injured as a violent storm lashed 25 villages in Pirganj upazila of the district at around 8:00pm on Tuesday night. The deceased are Alimul Islam, 28, Rina Akhter, 8, and Sakibul, 9, of Jagannathpur village in Boirchuna union, Sharifunnesa, 70, of Battala Hazirhat village in Jaborhat union, and Sukchand, 70, of Boirchuna village in Boirchuna union. Of the injured, 27 were admitted to Dinajpur and Rangpur medical college hospitals while the rest given first aid at upazila health complex. Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Abdur Rouf quoted upazila agriculture officer as saying that the storm damaged crops, including Irri-Boro, over 2,000 hectares of land at the affected villages. In Satkhira, two people were killed by lightning during Tuesday night's storm in Tala upazila of the district on Tuesday afternoon. The dead were identified as Nitai Chandra Mondol, 55, of Sonabandhal village in Tala upazila, and Probhas Mondol, 40 of Godaipur village in Assassuni upazila. Locals said both were struck by lightning on a paddy field at Shialdangi beel in Tala upazila and died instantly. Over 200 thatched houses, 26 shops, four mosques, three temples and 15 educational institutions were damaged while several hundred trees uprooted in the storm-hit areas. In Kishoreganj, lightning during storm killed two people in Karimganj and Tarail upazilas yesterday. The deceased are Bachchu Mia, 50, son of Abdur Rashid of Mougaon village in Tarail, and Kajol Chandra Debnath, 35, son of Jatindra Debnath of Panhargram village in Karimaganj. In Dinajpur, one person was killed and 10 others were injured as wall of a warehouse in Barapukuria coal mine area collapsed on during storm on Tuesday night. The dead was identified as Rezia Khatun, 40, wife of Mokshed Ali Master of Gopinathpur village under Parbatipur upazila of the district. Md Akram Hossain, a caretaker of the warehouse said some 20 people took shelter at the warehouse when a storm accompanied with hails started at around 8:00pm on Tuesday. Suddenly, a wall collapsed, killing the woman on the spot and injuring 10 others. Locals rescued the injured and took them to Phulbari Upazila Health Complex. In Jessore, a violent storm lashed 12 villages of Sarsa upazila on Tuesday night, injuring at least 15 people and damaging around 2,500 thatched and tin-roofed houses, educational institutions and poultry farms. It also uprooted a large number of trees and electric poles, plunging Baghachara, Kaiba and Goga unions into darkness. Power supply in the affected unions was not restored as of 5:00pm yesterday. Kamrul Arif, upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) said the storm lashed the villages at around 8:30pm and lasted for 20 minutes. In Narayanganj, two people were struck by lightning and killed during a nor'wester that lashed Musapur union in Bandar upazila yesterday afternoon. The deceased are Mohammad Hossain, 36, and his son Shanto, 16.of Dasergaon village in the union. Akhter Hossain, officer-in-charge of Bandar Police Station, said Mohammad and his son Shanto were carrying woods to Dasergaon in a rickshaw-van from Nabiganj bus stand. They were struck by lightning at Kaitakhali area at around 5:20pm and killed on the spot, he added. In Madaripur, Lightning killed three people in Rajoir and Sadar upazilas of Madaripur yesterday afternoon. The dead are Saiful Islam, 45, Abdul Malek Mia, 55, and Matlab Khalashi, 55. Locals said they were struck by lightning during a storm that hit the upazilas at around 5:30pm. In Barisal, a twister lashed four unions in Bakerganj upazila on Tuesday. The affected unions are Faridpur, Durgapasha, Dudhal and Darial. Md Rokanuzzaman, headmaster of SR Secondary School at Ichchapur under Faridpur union, said the school collapsed during the violent storm that lasted only 15 minutes from 1:05pm. In Gaibandha, a storm accompanied with hails swept through nine unions of Palashbari upazila early yesterday, damaging at least 500 thatched houses and crops. According to the upazila agriculture officer, hailstorm damaged boro on about 1,030 hectares of land in the unions. Besides, maize, jute, banana plants were damaged and trees and electric poles were uprooted by the storm that continued for half an hour, he said.
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