Heavy rains accompanied by strong gusty winds lashed the twin cities of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar on Tuesday forenoon. A sudden change in weather occurred at around 12 pm in the twin cities and its periphery. Near-darkness prevailed in the twin cities for quite some time, forcing the commuters to scurry for cover.
Later, the thundershowers threw normal life out of gear. Waterlogging was witnessed at several low-lying areas in Cuttack after a spell of heavy downpour. Besides, trees were seen uprooted under the impact of gusty surface wind along the Ring Road in the city.
Other parts of the State also experienced thunderstorm, lightning accompanied by strong surface winds reaching up to 60kmph. Trees were seen ripped apart at many places while house roof sheets were blown up under the impact of the storm. A woman was killed in lightning strike while one of her relatives was critically injured at Barakani village under Sadar police station in Balangir district. The incident took place while they were taking bath at nearby pond in the village.
The deceased was identified as Panibudi Meswa while her relative Bhumisuta, who sustained critical injuries was admitted to Bhima Bhoi Medical College Hospital.
Standing crops in of farm lands were damaged in several parts of Bargarh district due to the thunderstorm that struck in the morning at around 6 am on the day.
Similar scenes were also witnessed in Boudh and Subarnapur districts where heavy winds and rain took a heavy toll of the standing vegetable crops.