Storm kills 15 people in West Bengal

The season’s first Nor’wester claimed 15 lives in West Bengal. A strong wind with a speed of 82 km per hour lashed Kolkata, killing four people in the northern and western fringes of the city. In other parts of the state, 11 people died in the storm that brought respite from the heat wave of the past three weeks.

Mani Rudra, 45, died when a tree fell on the roof of a shop at Agarpara Station Road in the northern fringes of the city. Goley Bibi, 34, lost her life in Barasat, also in the north, when a part of a wall collapsed. A 50-year-old man died in Liluah when the pole he held on to crashed 30 feet to the ground.

At Sandeshkhali in North 24-Parganas, 24-year-old Jyotsna Mahato died when her hut caved in.

In Malda district, eight people, including four children died, when strong wind, with a speed of 100 km per hour tore through the district. In Canning in South 24-Parganas, two people were struck by lightening, while in Nadia district a farm labourer was struck by lightening while working in the fields.

The dust storm brought much-needed relief to Kolkata, where the temperature had crossed 40° Celsius.

The temperature climbed down from 36.5° Celsius to 29° Celsius in less than an hour when the storm struck at 3.12 pm. However, the rainfall was paltry.