Watch video: Tornado damages over 50 houses and injures 10 in Punjab village

#WATCH | #Tornado damages over 50 houses and injures 10 in Punjab’s Bukainwala village#Punjab

(Express Video) pic.twitter.com/ulQLU00fo9

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Pardeep Singh, a resident of Bukainwala village, said, “We saw the tornado from the roof of our house. All of a sudden it appeared in the sky around 4 pm and within minutes it moved towards the Pakistan side but not before wreaking havoc on our village which is located close to the border. Kinnow orchards got damaged completely, several portions (walls, roofs, etc.) of the houses came crashing down and we rescued many people from the debris.”

Tornado in Bukainwala village of Fazilka district of Punjab caused extensive damage (Express Photo)

Heavy storms are often seen in the Malwa districts of Punjab like Fazilka, Bathinda and Muktsar as they are close to Rajasthan, but such a tornado was seen after a long time, said Pardeep Singh.

Some of the injured have been identified as Sohan Lal, Bimla Rani and Mahinder Singh. Their houses were damaged. They have been admitted to Abohar civil hospital.

Fazilka Deputy Commissioner Senu Duggal said, “The damage is extensive in the village. We are assessing it. Around 10 people got injured. The tornado caused damage in about 3 km area. The exact loss assessment and damage to the houses, etc. will be done on Saturday. Many animals too suffered injuries when portions of the houses caved in. Luckily there was no loss of life.”

Dr K K Gill from Agromet department of Punjab Agricultural University said, “High-speed winds have been observed in many districts of Punjab in the past, but such a phenomenon has been seen after a long time. We had a forecast that weather will be bad on March 24 and March 25. However such tornadoes can be forecasted only three hours before they occur. As it didn’t show up on our radar, we couldn’t forecast it beforehand.”

Dr Gurvinder Singh, Director of Agriculture, Punjab, said, “Our teams will be assessing the damage by Saturday. Inclement weather had played havoc with Fazilka block, while hailstorms caused damage in Mansa, Bathinda and Muktsar villages. If it rains further, damage to the crop can be huge.”

The Fazilka deputy commissioner added, “The compensation for the damage to the crops and houses, and injuries to the livestock will be given to the villagers as per the policy of damage caused due to natural disasters.”

Fazilka MLA Narinderpal Singh Sawna said, “I must appreciate the role of villagers in this crucial hour as they came to help each other. One villager was taken out of the debris after two hours, and thank God he is safe. We are grateful to the Almighty that there was no loss of life, but the villagers will be compensated for the damage to their houses and crops, besides others.”